


The Phrases We Breathed

by llaryloo



Category: Brave (2012), How to Train Your Dragon (2010), Rise of the Guardians (2012), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Friendship, M/M, Oblivious Hiccup, Pining, Romance, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-01
Updated: 2014-04-01
Packaged: 2017-12-07 04:42:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 31,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/744369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/llaryloo/pseuds/llaryloo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being the son of Berk High's principal meant playing sick was infinitely harder.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ember_Phantom](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ember_Phantom/gifts), [stacalynn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/stacalynn/gifts).



> This is my first fic on AO3, and my first ROTBTD story. It sort of blossomed out of just a desire for more high school au's in the fandom. It's going to be mainly Hiccup centered because I identify with him for some odd reason. But please let me know what you all think! Also, I wrote all of this on my cell phone (thank God for Google Drive) so I apologize if there is any awkward spacing or capitalization. I would appreciate if someone could let me know if they spot something.

**Chapter 1**

  

It was Tuesday. And it was proven that everyone ever hated Tuesdays. No one sane would like a Tuesday. Hiccup glanced in the mirror sighing and running a hand through his hair. He had five minutes before he had to leave for school and part of him wondered how terrible it would be if he just crawled back in bed and claimed he was sick. The problem with being the son of Berk High's principal meant playing sick was infinitely harder.

He flopped down on his still unmade bed and fished his shoes from beneath only to be pawed by his black cat who had been chewing the aglet of his sneaker. "Gah, Toothless, you scared me." The cat nudged his head against his ankle and purred deeply.

"Give me a second. I'll feed you. I always do." Hiccup batted his beloved pet away and tried to ignore the cat as he stared expectantly. "I swear you're such a nag." Hiccup barely finished tying his shoe before the cat started pawing him purposefully once again. The sixteen-year-old shoved his books into his backpack and quickly headed downstairs. 

"Okay Toothless, salmon or chicken today?" He held up both cans of gourmet cat food in question, and the cat meowed and tilted one ear back. "Fine, fine, chicken for dinner then. I think this is the last salmon can." He spooned the wet food into a bowl and barely set it down before the cat was chomping down on it. "You would think I never fed you." 

He stretched out, eyeing the clock and balking. The bus would be there any minute. Hiccup threw on a brown hoodie which lie forgotten in the living room and trudged outside just in time to see the yellow bus pull up to the corner.

In all honesty, he hated taking the bus. And he could have gotten a ride from his dad if he didn't mind waking up an hour early and then, of course, actually riding with his dad. But still, maybe an awkward silence would beat the obnoxious teenagers who either ignored him (hopefully ignored him) or decided that the mornings weren't good unless they managed to torture Hiccup just a little.

He seemed home free, until a kid from down the block, Snotlout, shifted seats so he was right behind Hiccup. "Hey Hiccup. Nice hair today." His voice was almost appreciative save for the rough way he tousled Hiccups hair--hard enough to be a noogie.

Hiccup ducked, although the other boy's reach still got to him. 

"You growing it out or something?" 

Hiccup tried in vain to swat Snotlout's hand away. "So nice of you to notice. I always thought you cared. Really I’m flattered." The noogie became more determined as Tuffnut, Snotlout's best friend wandered over. 

"Hey Tuff, doesn't Hiccup look like he's training for a beauty pageant?" Snotlout moved his hand giving his friend a better view of the smaller boy. 

"Aw yeah," Tuffnut agreed with a falsely high pitched voice. He reached out and ruffled Hiccup's hair similarly. "All the boys will love you Hiccup!"

"You two would know," he retorted and both boys ruffled his hair violently. "I mean, you must have been growing your hair out since you were a just a little girl, Ruffnut," Hiccup said, pretending to mistake him for his twin sister. 

Tuff growled upon hearing the comment and Snotlout whacked Hiccup in the ear. "The hell you say to him?" The bigger boy's knuckles cracked as he made a fist.

Hiccup braced himself for the impact but a voice came instead. "Guys leave him alone." It was Astrid, the girl from three doors down. Hiccup's dad and her dad were friends so they were something of "family friends". And his dad was convinced they were destined to get married. Well, that was probably because Astrid may have been the most popular and beautiful girl In Berk high. Of course that meant she hung out with popular people like Snotlout and Tuffnut. 

"Hey Astrid," Snotlout quickly straightened up and leaned nonchalantly back in his seat. "Are you coming to the game this weekend?"

Astrid seemed disinterested and didn't dignify him with an answer. Instead, she plopped down into the seat next to Hiccup, much to his surprise. "You shouldn't talk back to them like that," she said. "It just pisses them off more. They're sort of like babies. If you ignore them they’ll get bored and find something else to do.”

“You know we can still hear you,” Snotlout said as he kicked the seat. 

Hiccup shrugged. “Yeah, but sarcasm is my only defense.” And it made him feel a little more in control when he could at least outwit the bullies. 

Astrid gave him a nudge to the ribs. “It’s not a very good one.” She smiled. 

A silence filled in between the two, and Hiccup cleared his throat. “Why do you bother hanging out with them anyway?” he asked, wishing instantly he hadn’t. 

“Still. Can. Hear. You.” Snotlout punctuated each sentence with a kick to the seat.

The blonde girl next to him shrugged. “I guess I’m just supposed to. It’s sort of a jock code.” She laughed. “Lacrosse girls hang out with boys on the lacrosse team. And I guess the boys on the football team too.”

“Isn’t he on like, every team?” Hiccup mused, knowing full well Astrid was also on every team she could be on. 

The girl didn’t look as if she would answer. But she didn’t get a chance anyway as the bus pulled up to the school. 

“See you around, Hiccup.” She threw a half-hearted wave in his direction and grouped up with the rest of the popular kids outside the school.

Hiccup on the other hand went straight to his locker, only to see his best friend, Merida, already standing there with it wide open.

“You know, it creeps me out that you know my combination,” he said in greeting. His locker was kept fairly neat, with only a few stray papers here and there. 

“Ye know it creeps me out when ye try ta out do me fer wildest hair,” she countered in her thick Scottish accent. 

Hiccup stood from kneeling to pick up his binder and gave her a quizzical look. “What are you talking about?”

The redhead gestured to his hair. “Did ye get inta a fight with a hairdryer? Or maybe ya had a bunch of wee baby monkeys searchin’ ya for bugs?” She giggled and pulled a mirror out of her backpack. “Here.” 

The boy groaned as he caught sight of his hair, which stuck up at odd matted angles. “I got noogie bombed on the bus.” Great, why couldn’t have Astrid have mentioned something? Although, maybe that would have been more mortifying. He felt his face heating up just at the thought.

“Again?” Merida rolled her eyes and started walking to their homeroom. “I swear. I’ll kick Snot’s arse the second ye say the word!” She got a dark look, which Hiccup attributed to her mental aiming her arrow at tender bits. 

“No, it doesn’t matter.” He brushed it off. “I should take up Judo or something.”

Merida paused and snorted a laugh. “Or somethin’.”

"Thanks for your vote of confidence Mer," Hiccup deadpanned as they continued on entering their first period class--chemistry. 

"Oh I forgot ta tell ye," Merida said, swiveling in her seat. "There's a new kid!"

Hiccup raised his eyebrows. The last new kid had been in the ninth grade. "Oh?"

She nodded, her curls bouncing every which way. "Mhm. He was on my bus. He sat in the back along with Flynn Rider, so I didn't get a good look at 'im. But I heard his name's Jack." 

"So the new kid is hanging out with Flynn already?" Flynn was known not only as the hottest guy in the entire school, but also as one of the biggest douche bags--second only to Snotlout possibly. 

Merida shrugged. "Ya know how it is. The new kids always get scooped up by popular kids. It’s like they're a new, shiny toy." 

Hiccup shrugged, and his attention was diverted to the door where a kid he didn't recognize walked in, trailing Flynn. It didn't take much for him to realize this was the new kid. And Merida punching his forearm and making muffled sounds just made it more obvious. 

The kid, Jack, was extremely different than anyone else at Berk high school. His hair was dyed white and his eyes an intense blue. He was lanky, but he didn't look gangly at all. In fact he looked more male model than anything in Hiccups opinion. He would put money on the guy having an intense six pack under his hoodie. Yeah, he could even make out a little definition in his arms as it was.

Of course, Jack picked that exact moment to make eye contact with Hiccup, the corners of his mouth lifting as he noticed the boy obviously staring. As if being caught staring wasn't mortifying enough, Hiccup felt his jaw drop slightly at just how perfect Jack's teeth were. And it made him ten times more self conscious of his own smile. He was going to have to fish his long forgotten retainer out of his dresser. 

"Alright class, start your Do Now while I help get our new student, Jack Overland, set up." Their teacher, Mr. Hughes, wandered over to Jack's desk towards the back corner while gesturing to the four chemistry problems o n the board for them to balance. It wasn't much of an introduction, but Mr. Hughes was a sort of half-assed teacher as it was. He may have been a beast at chemistry, but his people skills were lacking. 

 

Hiccup chewed on his lip and set to work, trying to ignore Fishlegs muttering about numbers and carbon atoms next to him. Chemistry wasn't his best subject, but he was decent enough at it. So he managed to finish up his problems with ease just in time for Mr. Hughes to start calling on people to put the answers on the board.

The bell couldn't ring soon enough, and when it finally did Merida and he filed out of the class before everyone else. 

"I didn't realize how hot he was!" Merida exclaimed gesturing wildly with her hands.

Instead of agreeing, like he wanted to, Hiccup said, "Wow, that's new coming from you. Guys usually get idiotic or smelly or something."

"Hey, I can appreciate a nice face and a tight arse as much as the next girl. Thank you very much." She laughed. "Doesn't mean I'd agree ta go out with the poor slob."

"Yep that sounds more like you." Hiccup nodded. "I pity the guy who decides to ask you to prom."

"It's not _prom_. It's the junior ring banquet." She corrected. Apparently the idea of junior prom seemed too cliché for the administration of Berk High school, so they thought they could fix that by giving it another name 

"Sorry. You're right."

"As usual." The warning bell sounded. And Merida tensed. "Ugh. I gotta get ta technology. Gobber will kill me if I'm late again."

Hiccup just laughed at her and walked backwards so he could still talk to her. "How's that class going?"

"It would have been nice if my dearest friend didn't lie and tell me it was easy!" She called. 

"It was easy! Tell Gobber I say hi!" Hiccup called back, turning around and walking face first into Snotlout’s chest. "Ow."

"Watch where you're going, dipshit." Snotlout shoved Hiccup against the wall of lockers violently and walked on. 

"Hiccup!" He looked up to see a girl, Rapunzel standing near with a concerned look in her large eyes. "Are you Okay?" She asked waiting for him to catch up so they could walk to art class together.

"Just peachy," he told her, rubbing his sore arm.

She gave him a disbelieving look. "Why don't you tell your dad about this stuff?" 

Hiccup shrugged. "It's not really easy to tell a principle his star quarterback and captain of the lacrosse team is beating on his son. Besides isn't he your friend? Why would you want me to rat him out?"

"He's _Flynn's_ friend. I tolerate him." She held the door open for him. "I could see if Flynn maybe will ask him to lay off?"

"No. Don't do that. I'll be fine." 

Rapunzel shrugged and pulled out her sketchbook. For a while Hiccup wondered why Rapunzel acted so nice around him. She was part of the popular crowd based on her unlikely relationship with Flynn, and she was stunningly gorgeous. But she was probably the nicest person in school. And she almost made up for the collective asshole level of the jocks and popular kids. 

But Hiccup felt like the two of them shared a sort of friendship that went a little deeper than just her being nice. They were both really into art and had taken art together since junior high. She was easily more talented when it came to abstract and watercolors. But she was convinced his sketches and still lifes were amazing. And he trusted her to look at some of the work he did above anyone else. 

"So have you met the new kid yet?" Rapunzel asked, flipping through her sketchbook to her current drawing. 

Hiccup shook his head. "No. He's in my homeroom, but I haven't met him exactly." 

"He's pretty nice. Really funny actually." She gave a fond smile. "It's cool he's so confident. It must be hard to be new junior year." 

"It probably helps that he looks like a Calvin Klein model." Hiccup's eyes widened and he could feel his freckled face turning red.

Rapunzel nodded, and Hiccup was glad she didn't seem to question his comment. "He is gorgeous," she agreed. "It's great though. He and Flynn have been getting along wonderfully. But I didn't see him much besides the bus."

Hiccup figured Rapunzel was just being her normal positive self. "You're mom's letting you take the bus?"

The blonde girl nodded. "Yes. It's amazing. I finally convinced her." She grinned, small dimples showing on her face. 

Although he disagreed, Hiccup nodded. Her mother was notoriously overprotective. "That's great. I'm really glad."

The two drew in silence for most of the period as they only had one more class to work on the sketchbook project. However, five minutes before the bell for third period rang, Rapunzel looked up again. "Hiccup, you're good at English right? You're in AP? And you took that creative writing class freshmen year?" She seemed hesitant as If she thought he might shoot her down.

"Yeah, why? Do you need help with class?" He began packing up his supplies. He wasn't quite satisfied, but he still could work on it the next two nights as art alternated with gym." 

"Sort of. I just was hoping you could possibly edit a few poems I've been working on. I've been trying to incorporate words into some of my paintings. I just thought..."

"Absolutely,” Hiccup said, touched that she would ask him for something so personal. "I'm not sure how much I can help but I'd love to take a look."

She fished through her book bag. "Hiccup, thanks so much. I only have one with me. I can give you some of the others at lunch maybe? If it isn't too much trouble obviously."

He accepted the paper from her and placed it carefully in his binder. "No problem at all. I'll probably be able to look at this in math next period."

Her eyes got wide. "Uhh maybe you should wait until you get home." She blushed slightly. "Just in case."

He shrugged. "Okay?"

The bell rang and Rapunzel hurried out of the class to be greeted by her boyfriend. 

Hiccup spent his next two classes daydreaming as he usually did. Math and history were his least favorite subjects, if only because the preceded lunch. Math went by speedily, although Hiccup was surprised by the small smile Astrid gave him when he walked in the room. Still, the bell for fifth period rang quicker than usual it seemed. And he and Merida left their honors U.S. history class and headed towards the cafeteria. 

The two used to sit with Fishlegs and some members of the AV club. But once they all decided to ask Merida out within weeks of each other she forced Hiccup to move to a secluded table on the other side of the room. 

Merida munched into her Doritos and paused in her musings on the French and Indian war. "Ye've been quiet today, Hiccup. Is somethin' wrong?" 

Hiccup shrugged. "No. Not really." It wasn't a lie, but it felt like one as he said it. "Oh, I forgot to tell you, Astrid sat with me on the bus this morning," he said changing the subject.

Merida raised her eyebrows. "Oh, how cute. Are ye thinkin' of askin' her out?" She asked, but her tone seemed to infer she knew the answer. 

"What? No. Definitely not. She's not...interested in me. Besides Snotlout would probably kill me if I looked at her the wrong way."

Merida pushed air out of her cheeks making a pfft sound. "I think ye just don't like her as much as ye claim." 

He groaned. For some reasons conversations about Astrid always ended up being strangely one sided, as if Merida was trying to tell him something he should already know. 

"She asks about ye sometimes. I think she'd say yes if ye asked." 

"Well I'm not asking. Not yet." Hiccup paused. "Wait what does she say about me?"

Merida chuckled and raised her head to acknowledge someone behind Hiccup. Rapunzel approached them, followed by Flynn and surprisingly, Jack.

"Hey Hiccup. Here are the things you said you'd look at," Rapunzel said handing him a folder and nodding meaningfully at him.

"Right." He smiled and glanced at Flynn and the other boy.

"Oh right! Jack, this is Hiccup and Merida." The blonde girl gestured to them. 

"Hey! Great to meet you. I'm Jack." The white-haired boy waved.

"Nice ta meet ye too Jack!” Merida exclaimed, stepping on Hiccup's foot under the table.

"Ah! Uh oh. Yeah. Hi." His tongue suddenly felt too big for his mouth. 

"Yeah...soo are we done here?" Flynn chimed looking bored.

"Come on Flynn, it'll be good for Jack to meet everyone. Let's sit with them," Rapunzel urged, bouncing eagerly on her heels.

The brown-haired boy blinked and looked forlornly at Hiccup and Merida's table then back to his hopeful girlfriend. "Fine. But just this once. My reputation cannot handle this."

Jack chuckled and clapped Flynn on the back before relaxing into the chair next to Hiccup.

"You're in my chem class right? Both of you?"

Hiccup nodded stupidly and busied himself with opening the lid of his pudding cup.

"So, how're ye likin' it here so far, Jack?" Merida asked, scooting over so Rapunzel could sit by her.

He shrugged. "Everyone seems cool. And Flynn's been showing me around so I haven't gotten lost." Jack gave Flynn a grin.

The other boy nodded and plastered on the lazy smirk which marked him as hottest guy in school. “I know. I'm so benevolent to the unfortunate new kid," he joked.

"More like you have a benevolent girlfriend who has you _whipped_." Jack nudged Flynn who laughed and shoved him back in the rambunctious way most guys did with their friends. And Hiccup tried to ignore his stomach doing flip flops by licking the pudding off of the foil lid.

Merida explained the wonder that is Mr. Hughes as a teacher whole, while Rapunzel blabbered on to Flynn about her French class. Hiccup continued focusing on the pudding cup, wondering why he subjected himself to vanilla when so many other interesting flavors lined the grocery store shelves. 

It wasn't that Hiccup was shy; really, he just didn't warm up so easily to people. While Merida might not be the nicest of all people, she was still friendly. Hiccup just had trouble when people threw off his chi--or whatever.

He licked some pudding off of his spoon as if it were an ice cream cone, before looking up to see Jack staring at him, as if waiting for a response.

"Uhh," he shoved the spoon in his mouth to buy him some time and glanced at Merida, who rolled her eyes but offered no help. "Sorry. I sort of zoned out."

Jack chuckled. "I just asked what class you had next." The boy swallowed, and Hiccup could see his Adam's apple bobbing under his pale skin. 

"Oh." He tore his eyes away to glare at his redheaded friend. "Health, with Miss Dents.”

"No way, me too!" Jack flashed his perfect teeth, and Hiccup found himself smiling back. 

"I would do nasty, nasty things to Miss Dents," Flynn commented earning a good-natured whack from Rapunzel. 

Hiccup blinked. "Welp, that's an utterly disgusting image that I won't be able to erase for a while. Thanks for that."

"Oh you don't know how disgusting.” Flynn nodded very seriously. And Rapunzel giggled.

Jack let out an unattractive moan. "Dammit Flynn I haven't even met the woman, and I'm going to be having disturbing thought about her. It's all your fault. With my luck she's going to be five-hundred pounds with a beard."

Merida snorted into her Snapple and coughed.

"Oh my God we sit with you once and the conversation goes there." Rapunzel shook her head, clearly amused.

Hiccup shrugged. “Blame your boyfriend. He brought it up." 

"Probably to try to save his reputation," Jack mocked, poking Flynn in the shoulder.

It amazed Hiccup how easily Jack seemed to slide right into the swing of things on his first day. But he was surprisingly comfortable. And not only did he fall into amicable conversation with Merida and Rapunzel but he threw jabs at Flynn and tried his hardest to engage Hiccup throughout the rest of lunch. And when the bell rang, Hiccup was surprised the tall boy sidled up to him while Rapunzel and Flynn went to their sixth period class.  
"Lead the way good sir," Jack said, ostentatiously.

Hiccup hoisted his bag over his shoulder. "Alright. But I need to go to my locker first. Do you mind?"

Jack shrugged. "Not at all." He followed Hiccup quietly until they finally got to the locker. "Thanks for letting me sit with you guys at lunch. I could tell you weren't really into it."

"What?" Hiccup said doing the combination of his locker. "No. No. Sorry. I just-- I'm a little off today." He glanced up as he pulled the door open. Jack's bright blue eyes were trained on him. "It's not your fault. And as much as I love spending my lunch listening to Flynn, it wasn't his fault either." 

The taller boy laughed, erasing any worries of him being offended by Hiccup's remark about Flynn. "Oh wow!" he exclaimed. "Did you draw that?" He pointed to a small doodle of a sail boat taped to the inside of his locker.

Hiccup felt himself blush as he stuttered, "Ah, yeah. I did."

"It's amazing. You're really talented."

Hiccup scratched the back of his neck. "It's just a doodle really. But thanks."

"Come on just take the compliment!" Jack nudged Hiccup. And Hiccup had to ignore the way his stomach jumped.

"Hey, new kid."

Both Hiccup and Jack looked towards Snotlout who had shouted across the hallway and now approached them. 

"Oh God, what now?" Hiccup muttered, kneeling down to get his books to hopefully avoid confrontation. 

"It's Jack. I swear it's an easy enough name to remember," Jack said, and his tone seemed light-hearted enough. But he folded his arms and leaned heavily on the lockers beside Hiccup's.

Snotlout had approached them fully and counter Jack's pose by folding his arms. "What are you doing hanging out with this nerd?" As if to emphasize his point he slammed Hiccup's locker door shut, nearly catching the boy's fingers. "If you want to hang out with us," Snot referred to the popular kids. "You can't hang out with him and his girlfriend." 

Hiccup rolled his eyes, trying hard to do as Astrid suggested and ignore him. But Jack seemed to have other plans.

"Well, it sounds like there are a lot of rules to hang out with someone who doesn't even bother to remember my name." 

Hiccup stood up in time to catch Jack's unamused expression. 

 

"Alright, _Jack_ , but why even bother? Everyone here knows Hiccup is a useless human being," the boy sneered. 

"Snotlout, no one could possibly be as useless as you. I promise." Hiccup regretted his words as soon as he said them.

Snotlout quickly rammed him against his locker, holding tight enough on his hoodie that he vaguely wondered if he would be strangled. "Listen Hiccup, you've been pissing me off all day. I'd keep your mouth shut if I were you."

"Whoa, get off of him dude,” Jack exclaimed, pushing Snotlout off of Hiccup with surprising strength. "You don't touch people like that. Alright?"

"Listen, new kid, you don't talk to me like that. Okay?" Snotlout mimicked, shoving Jack. "You need to learn your place. I don't care if Flynn thinks you can hang."

Jack pushed Snotlout back, and almost instinctively Hiccup got between the two. "Hey stop! Guys we're in the middle of the hall!"

"Get out of the way," Snotlout grabbed Hiccup by the shoulder and flung him out from blocking Jack. Of course, the quarterback didn't take care to be gentle, and Hiccup managed to slip. Luckily there was a locker to cushion his slide--and bruise his shoulder. 

"What is your problem?" Jack asked as Snotlout crowded him up against the locker, fists clenched. "Didn't your parents hug you enough when you were a child?"

Snotlout barely let Jack finish before throwing a punch. The white-haired boy was quick though and managed to duck just in time. Unfortunately, Hiccup's locker suffered a mighty dent. 

As soon as the punch landed Jack head butted Snotlout in the gut, sending both boys hurtling to the ground. The bigger boy gained the upper hand quickly by rolling on top of him. Hiccup quickly tugged on Snotlout's t-shirt, trying to get him off of Jack, only to be hit by a flying limb in gut.

As he tried to catch his breath, Hiccup vaguely heard the bell ring for sixth period over the crowd of students surrounding them. Fights were a common thing at Berk high. Although most of them usually consisted of members of the same sports team scuffling. And they were rarely so public. Even so the crowd cheered as Snotlout reached up from Jack who had managed to roll on top of him. He grasped the first thing that caught his hand, bringing down the hallway bulletin board onto the three teens. 

If this hadn't signaled the end of the fight, the booming voice at the end of the hall definitely did. "What is going on here?" Stoick loomed over them, his jaw set in anger.  
Hiccup's eyes widened at the sight of his father. "Oh crap."

"All of you. My office. _Now_."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh, so a few things. First off, ohhh my god! I can't believe I got over 200 hits in so little time! And thanks to everyone who commented and left kudos. It really helped me expedite this chapter! 
> 
> Secondddd I sort of tried to get this brain child of mine under control, and at the point I'm at now, this story is looking to be around 22 chapters. So, I hope you're ready for the long haul. And dear lord I hope I am too. 
> 
> And thirdly, I think this chapter is a little mehh. But I needed to get everything out of the way to speed up the plot a bit. And I really apologize for the ending. I just literally went insane or something. But yeah! Please let me know what you think! I love hearing from all of you. Even just a kudos gives me so much confidence!

**Chapter 2**

Hiccup and Jack sat in the designated spot of shame outside of the principal's office. They slouched I the uncomfortable chairs for fifteen minutes as Stoick spoke individually to Snotlout--who apparently was a repeat offender.  


"I'm really sorry, Hiccup," Jack whispered.  


Hiccup shrugged. " Hey don't apologize for Snotlout. He's been particularly antagonistic this month."  


"Still."  


"Hey just think he can boss people around because he's a big, scary football player." Hiccup paused. "Uh, thanks for standing up for me. I mean..." Hiccup trailed off, and was saved from continuing by the office door opening.  


"...And I'll see you again when your father gets here, " Stoick completed, ushering Snotlout out into the lobby of the Main office.  


Hiccup focused on the palms of his hands, knowing if he met his father's eyes he would see a look of sheer disappointment.  


"Alright you two." Stoick held the door open for Jack and Hiccup, and they plopped down in two waiting chairs. "I know you weren't the start of It. But I still can't believe you took it so far."  


Hiccup finally raised his eyes. "Dad, it was my fault, Jack had nothing to do with it. He was just trying--"  


The principal raised his large hand to cut Hiccup off. "It doesn't matter who's fault it was Hiccup. School policy says I need to deal a punishment.  


The brunette looked over to Jack, who seemed unnaturally calm for someone who had landed himself in the principal's office on their first day of school.  


" Now, I have to suspend Mr. Jorgenson because he's been a repeat offender. But I'm going to let you both off with after school for the rest of the week."  


Hiccup groaned. "But Dad!"  


"No buts. And I'll have to call your guardian Mr. Overland."  


Jack nodded. "Yeah, I understand," he said quietly.  


Guardian? Hiccup wondered if his father was just generalizing or if Jack didn't live with his parents. He wasn't bold enough to ask though. That sort of thing tended to be a touchy subject for most people.  


"And both of you need to report to the detention room with Mr. Sandy after ninth period. Understand?" Stoick handed them detention slips. "Now go to seventh period. The bell is about to ring."  


Jack and Hiccup trudged out of the main office as the seventh period bell rang.  


"I'm really sorry Hiccup," Jack said as they made their way through the hall. "I could have just taken the fall, you were trying to stay out of it."  


"No, Jack don't worry." Hiccup laughed. "Who knows, maybe my dad will just be glad I actually tried to fight for once. "  


Jack grinned. "It sounds like someone is harboring a whole pile of issues in there."  


"You don't even want to know," Hiccup joked, even though Jack wasn't so far off. He and his dad got along fine as long as they didn't touch certain subjects. Actually, maybe It was the other way around--they had to stay on certain subjects and It was fin. Merida and her family were safe. Hiccups father loved Merida and her father like family. And Hiccup could have sworn the man almost cried when he said Merida and he would always only be friends. At least he had Astrid to hope for, and though Hiccup had a self-proclaimed crush on her, the likelihood of them getting together was slowly dwindling.  


"Hey at least we have detention to look forward to." Jack winked, and Hiccup felt more likelihood of him asking Astrid dwindling away.  


Hiccup slouched dramatically. "Well, this is my classroom." Hiccup stopped in front of his English room. "I better go inform Merida of everything. She's secretly a gossip queen."  


"See ya!" Jack gave him a semi-salute and walked down the hall.  


Berk wasn't exactly a large school, so by the time Hiccup had made it to eighth period most of the school knew what happened. And the entire school was coming up with extensive rumors by ninth period. Still, considering how quick it had taken them to spread the news of MacGuffin wetting his pants had travelled during ninth grade, the rumor mill was slacking.  


Hiccup had ninth period with Merida and Rapunzel, and was surprised to see Jack sitting next to both girls.  


"Hiccup! Did you hear how we saved a middle schooler from getting molested? Rapunzel was just telling me about it. "  


The blonde nodded excitedly. "Ruffnut was telling me all about It."  


Merida shook her head. "But I heard it was an epic showdown for Astrid's honor!"  


Hiccup sat down behind Merida. "Oh I bet she loves that one." He flicked a stray red curl back I Merida's direction.  


"My personal favorite is how you and Snotlout were fighting over who was going to take me to prom. Not that I don't appreciate the gesture, but did you have to get us detention over that?"  


Hiccup blushed. "You're not really my type. Sorry." He forced a laugh and his his face by fishing his books out from his bag.  


"Shot down again. First Merida, now you. You guys really know how to make a new kid feel welcome." Jack gave an exaggerated pout.  


Hiccup sat up quickly, clipping his head on the desk. "Huh? Merida?"  


The redhead giggled and turned to the front as their psychology teacher started up the overhead.  


"So what's your detention like?" Jack asked as he followed Hiccup to the detention room. Merida and Rapunzel had parted ways with them after class. And Hiccup only could mourn the fact that he couldn't ask Merida what Jack had been talking about.  


"Our detention?" Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "Are you a well travelled detainee?"  


The taller boy shrugged. "I've been around the block a few times. I'm kind of a prankster. I've never been brought in for a fight though. So you're popping my cherry."  
Hiccup cleared his throat and decided on responding to his question. "Well Mr.Sandy doesn't really care as long as you're quiet and don't use cell phones. You're not supposed to do homework but he let's you. So it's pretty... easy." He pulled the door open allowing Jack to lead him in. They both approached the older man at the desk and handed him the slips before taking their seats.  


Hiccup made quick work of opening his math textbook. At least he could try to get things done despite the situation. And that worked out for about five minutes. A piece of paper folded Into an ornate triangle landed on the desk.  


He glanced up and Jack was looking innocently in the other direction.  


_You look so grumpy,_ the note read. Hiccup couldn't help smiling a little as he quickly wrote a reply. _I'm in detention. I'm supposed to be grumpy._  


He folded the paper back up and placed it on Jack's desk when Mr. Sandy wasn't looking. He went back to his math homework. Although Jack took only seconds to toss the paper football unceremoniously back at him, hitting him in the ear.  


_does this count as your grounding, or is your dad going to double punish you?_ Honestly, Hiccup rarely got punished in the traditional sense. Mostly he got the disappointment speech and a guilt trip about his mom having so many expectations. But he usually wheedle his way out of being actually grounded.  


_I should be okay besides the unhappy looks over dinner tonight. How about you? Are you going to be locked away forever?_ Jack was looking expectantly at him, and Hiccup quickly handed him the paper.  


Without bothering to go back to his homework, Hiccup watch Jack scrawl on the page. The white haired boy then took aim and flicked the paper football at Hiccup.  
 _Nah, my godfather will understand if I explain I was defending a friend._  


Hiccup quelled his desperate desire to ask about why Jack lived with his godfather. He was not going to pry into this guy's life after knowing him for less than a day. _that's good then. So..... did you hit on Merida or something?_ He figured a subject change might help him from going down a nosey path. And he was still curious about the comment during ninth period. He threw caution to the wind and tried to flick the note into Jack's hood. Instead it landed on the desk behind the boy.  


_oh, kind of. I was just kidding. So you don't have to be jealous or anything._ the note said, after he had caught it from flying across the room.  


Jealous? He felt himself blushing--the kind of obvious blush that got worse when you thought about it more. Clearly Jack was kidding. Right? Why would he be jealous?  


_haha. I'm not the jealous type._ He tossed the note back, feeling good about his response.  


Jack grinned and shook his head before writing out his response. Unfortunately, Hiccup would never see what he wrote, as Mr. Sandy snatched the paper off of Jack's desk shaking his head and shushing them without another word.  


"Oops," Jack whispered before slumping down in his desk. The rest of the hour passed by painfully slow with Hiccup etching away at his math homework. And Jack tapping an unnamed tune on his desk, earning glares from the rest of the kids in detention and Mr. Sandy. And when the after school bell rang everyone nearly hopped out of their seats.  


"Are you catching the late bus home?" Hiccup asked as he and Jack walked outside.  


The taller boy shook his head. "Nah, North, my godfather, is picking me up."  


Hiccup nodded turning to go out back where the late buses picked the students up. "Well see you tomorrow."  


"Wait Hiccup," Jack said. "Do you want a ride home?"  


Hiccup stumbled a little, ready to acquiesce but thought better of it. "I better not. I need to prepare for the awkward dinner. Besides, I don't want to be an inconvenience."  
Jack shrugged and waved before heading towards a red SUV parked out front.  


As soon as he got home, Hiccup jumped in the shower and spent far too long beneath the hot spray. It had been a really, spectacularly long day, and frankly, he couldn't wait for bed. When he finally started to get pruned he turned the water off and searched his room for semi-clean sweatpants. He could hear his dad bustling down in the kitchen, and he was guessing some sort of chicken for dinner by the smells.  


Well, it was now or never. And Hiccup figured he may as well get it over with. It wasn't as if it would be his first dinner riddled with lectures and disappointed sighs.  


Toothless tried to trip him as he headed downstairs. The black cat whined f the lack of attention, and weaved himself through Hiccup's legs making It impossible to walk normally.  


"Hiccup?" His dad said as the teenager neared the kitchen.  


"Uh, yeah, Dad." He resisted the urge to ask who else It would have been. He started absentmindedly setting the table and pouring himself some iced tea, while Stoick pulled the chicken from the oven.  


Silence filled the room as the two sat down to eat. Generally their meals weren't filled with raucous laughter or deep conversations. However, they usually held amicable small talk about their respective days. Of course tonight the looming awkwardness of what had transpired prevented any typical father-son interaction.  


There was no way Hiccup would broach the subject first. But Stoick seemed hesitant to bring anything up as well. The clanking of forks to plates was becoming unbearable as dinner went on, and Hiccup contemplated how the conversation could potentially go. Maybe there would be no conversation. Maybe Stoick figured they could move away from the day and start anew.  


"What were you thinking today?"  


Or maybe he was just lulling Hiccup into a false sense of security.  


"Dad, I--" he started, unsure of what to say.  


"Fightin'? In the middle of the hallway? What was so important?" Stoick growled, and Hiccup could tell the "middle of the hallway" is what he was really upset about. "Never a day in your life do you raise a hand to anyone, and when you finally decide to man up it's smack In the middle of the day. With Jorgenson!"  


Hiccup puffed his cheeks out. What could he say? Snotlout was being an ass to him and Jack? He had been bullied almost everyday and this was the straw that broke the camel's back?  


"I--Snotlout was saying things, about Astrid."  


Stoick's face softened.  


"Yeah," Hiccup continued. "And you know. I couldn't stand for that because, uh." He pushed his shoulders back going for masculine. "I have so much _raw_ masculinity inside me. And I needed to defend her honor. Obviously. And Jack just got caught in the middle." He looked at his father, frozen and waiting for a reaction.  


Finally, Stoick let out a hearty laugh. "I always knew ya had some of me in ya!" He slapped the table and took an approving swig of his beer.  


"Ha. Right." Hiccup felt a lump form in his throat. “Definitely.”  


Stoick opened his mouth but was interrupted by the house phone ringing. Most people who wanted to reach either of the Haddocks went straight for their cellphones, and the house phone was reserved solely for telemarketers and business calls to Stoick. And when the large man answered the phone with his generic greeting, Hiccup could tell it was the latter.  


“Speaking,” Stoick said into the receiver, lowering his voice. “Yes sir, I’m aware.” He glanced at Hiccup, who quickly busied himself with cleaning up the dishes.  


“Is that really necessary, though?” Stoick sighed and sank back down in his chair, rubbing his impressive beard. “I see.”  


Hiccup turned the sink on, pretending to drown out the one-sided conversation while doing the dishes.  


“It was just one fight, Sir... Well, I suppose.” Stoick listened to the man on the other line, and Hiccup’s heart sunk. “I do. I see the problem... I understand. You need to do what’s necessary.”  


Hiccup turned the sink off and placed the dishes on the drying rack, before turning to see his dad looking uncharacteristically shameful. He figured it might be something about the fight judging by what he heard, and he couldn’t bear to stand by to awkwardly ask who it was. So instead, he opened the remaining can of chicken for Toothless and headed upstairs to finish up his homework.  


Though he hadn’t gotten reprimanded, he was feeling distinctly terrible after that dinner. And the phone call only made things worse. Hiccup sat at his desk and turned his computer on, and as he was hoping, Merida promptly Skype called him.  


“Oi!” she exclaimed in greeting when he answered with a video. Her hair was tied precariously in a bun at the top of her head. And she had green goo covering her face. “If ye laugh, I will kill ye. And I won’t even be sorry.”  


Hiccup felt his mouth twitch. “Is your mom making you do a spa day again?” he asked conversationally.  


“Fuck. You,” she pronounced, folding her arms. “She just thought I could use a little _moisturizing_ It’s not a big deal.” She folded her arms and pouted.  


Toothless nosed his way into the room and hopped onto Hiccup’s lap.  


“No, of course not.”  


Merida rolled her eyes. “Whatever, I have thirty minutes to kill before I have to wash this shit offa my face.”  


While Hiccup surreptitiously took a screenshot of her for future blackmail, she asked him about how detention went.  


“It was fine really. Jack and I got caught passing notes, but whatever.”  


She grinned impishly. “Aw, getting friendly with the new boy?”  


He shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s pretty cool I guess. And I mean we had each other’s back so that’s something.”  


Merida raised a ginger eyebrow. “It’s something alright,” she said, then added. “Is everything good with you and your dad though?”  


He nodded and thought back to his dinner conversation. “I sort of lied to him.”  


“Of course you did,” she deadpanned. “What did you say?”  


Hiccup bit his lip. “I might have told him that I was defending Astrid’s honor.”  


Merida burst out laughing, her mouth comically wide so he could make out her uvula on the screen. “I bet he ate it up.”  


“Oh yeah, totally. It was all back slaps and swigs of beer at my masculinity,” he said bitterly.  


“Poor guilty Hiccup. I lie to Ma all the time.” She brushed off. “Aww, does Toothless have a new collar?” she asked as the cat popped his head up to look at the screen.  
“Nah, it’s an old one. He seemed ready for a change though.” He absentmindedly scratched behind his cat’s ear. “Hey, so my dad got a weird phone call. I think it was from the district or something about the fight today.”  


The redhead frowned. “We have fights at school all the time.”  


“I know. But I think maybe that’s why. I mean, he had to _suspend_ Snotlout.” He chewed on a hangnail on his thumb. “What if he’s in trouble. Especially because I was involved.”  


Merida shook her head. “If ye do that to yerself, ye’ll feel like crap. So stop thinkin’ like that.” She stretched her mouth out awkwardly. “I hate this stuff. It makes me feel like my face is goin’ to crack open.”  


“Then wash it off. You look like a weird alien trying to contact me anyway. It’s freaking me out.” He waved her away.  


She flailed a little. “But I still have twenty minutes or so!”  


Hiccup raised an eyebrow, as if asking if she really was going to last that long.  


“Fine, fine. I’ll be back in a jiff,” she said and disappeared from the screen.  


Hiccup reached into his backpack figuring he should start on some homework anyway. As he pulled out his English notebook, a few loose pages fell out as well. “Oh, right,” he whispered to no one, remembering his promise to Rapunzel.  


The pages had a few swirly doodles decorating the margins, and Rapunzel’s loopy handwriting filled the lines. He allowed himself to scan the first few lines, before choking on his own spit. He felt his eyes widen as he continued reading the surprisingly well-written verses.  


“Hiccup, are ye alright there? Ye look like yer eyes are about to pop out.” Merida’s voice startled him, and Hiccup guiltily tossed the pages to the ground.  


“Uh, I--uh,” he stuttered, before remembering he hadn’t actually done anything wrong.  


“Please tell me ye weren’t peekin’ at porn when I was gone.” She gave him a disapproving look with her now clean face.  


He shook his head frantically. “No! Rapunzel--she gave me some poems to read for her art. And I--well,” he glanced surreptitiously to the page on the ground. Toothless had already laid down on it. “Apparently she likes being bitten on her shoulder during,” he lowered his voice. “Sex.”  


Merida cackled. “Oh Lord have mercy! I can’t believe ye just told me that!” She leaned forward and put on a husky voice. “Did it turn you on, Hiccup? Were ye imagining it?”  
He gagged. “No. God. Stop! I don’t need to picture Flynn and her doing _anything_ ever.” He blushed furiously. It wasn’t that he thought sex was awkward, or taboo. He just had the least experience of anyone he knew. And the term “blushing virgin” came to mind, unfortunately. He just preferred not to go into detail about it with other people, though he may have had a few endeavors in searching creative porn styles.  


“It’s not so bad. They’re both attractive enough,” Merida mused. “Don’t be a prude.”  


Hiccup rolled his eyes. While Merida was only slightly more experienced than he was, she was a lot more open when it came to sexuality. Hiccup happened to know she kept a secret stash of erotic novels in her room. And since Merida was the least hopeless romantic person he knew, he had to assume she read it for the raunchier scenes. Especially after she forcibly made him listen to her dramatically reading from _Fifty Shades of Grey_.  


“I’m not a prude, I was just blindsided. She said poetry, I wasn’t expecting such--I dunno--detail.”  


“Prude!” Merida yelled over him, giggling.  


Hiccup rolled his eyes. “I hate you. Listen, I’m going to finish proofreading these and hit the sack. I’ll see you in the morning.”  


“Sure, _proofreading_.” She made a rude gesture before laughing and hanging up.  


Hiccup stared at the ended call and sighed, shaking his head. “Toothless, get off the porny poems, I need to read them for Rapunzel.”  


Toothless gave a judgemental _meow_ and hopped off the page, presumably to leave Hiccup to his work.  


“I swear to God I am just editing them!” he called to the retreating cat, as he moved onto his bed. Although, Toothless failed to respond and must have thought it better to give Hiccup some privacy.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo I boarded the struggle bus on this chapter. Mostly because it's now my last week of classes (ever!) and I am suddenly swamped with the all things. But I am actually pretty happy with how it turned out despite all of that. I'm happy to announce that the plot is finally actually starting like fer real. And I'm not so happy to announce that the angst fairy might be paying this story a visit..... not yet though. So we have time to prepare. ALSOOOO thanks to everyone who read/commented/bookmarked/left kudos. Seriously you guys make my day!

**Chapter 3**

 

"I have a very important question for you." Jack slammed his body against the locker beside Hiccup's in an exaggerated lean. First period had gone by without a nod of acknowledgement from the guy, so Hiccup was mildly surprised to have been approached. 

Hiccup lifted an eyebrow. "My instinct is to say no. But I'll wait to hear your question."

Jack laughed. "Do you have second period gym?"

The brunette nodded. "Yeah. Do you?" he countered. The school tried to make it so half the school had gym during second period, so even though people had different electives it was always very likely that they might have gym. Hiccup had gym with what seemed like all of the boys in school besides Fishlegs--the one guy in school he considered a friend. Mad while the girls had the same period, they were split up to do things like yoga and dance while boys got to do basketball and flag football (ha flags). 

"Yes. Perfect. Whatever we're doing we need to gang up on Flynn." Jack lowered his voice as they walked and looked around, as if Flynn was going to pop up and hear them conspiring. 

Hiccup led the way to the gym. "I don't know if that's a good idea. I mean. I really don't think you'd want me on your team," he said truthfully. Hiccup wasn't the most coordinated of people, and when it came to gym he did his best to stay in the background and do as little as possible. 

"I don't care. I need allies. Flynn Rider is going down!" Jack grinned, and followed Hiccup into the locker room.

"What about me?" Flynn said. He was already pulling his gym shorts on, obviously ready for whatever crazy game Coach Bunnymund was going to force them into today. 

Over the crinkling of the plastic bag which held his gym clothes, Jack said, "Oh, just about how awesome you are." He tugged off his blue hoodie and t-shirt in one swoop. 

Hiccup froze in the middle of doing his combination. Well he had definitely been right back the six pack thing. Jack might not have been as built as Flynn, but lean muscles were clearly defined on his torso. And when he stretched they flexed nicely over his rib cage. 

Before Jack could notice, Hiccup pulled his gaze away and finished opening his gym locker. He picked the shorts that were likely cleanest and began undressing. He ignored the slightly self-conscious feeling that generally niggled at him during changing. But it was a little more prevalent today, so he speedily changed.

"Today we're going to be playing Protect the Pins," the Australian g teacher said, standing in the center of the gymnasium. 

Hiccup suppressed a groan and Bunnymund relayed the rules. The game was supposed to be a less violent version of dodge ball, but the only real difference came with the pins the students had to protect in addition to being pelted by kickballs. Most of the guys, including Jack, seemed ready to get the game started. And when the coach counted them off into two separate teams, Jack moved around so he would be on the same team as Hiccup. 

He knew it was just because Jack was hopeful Hiccup would prove to be a stupendous ally in his plight against Flynn Rider. But the brunette was just glad to have someone actually want to be on his team for once. Although he was positive Jack would regret it when the game fell into swing.

It turns out, Jack just found Hiccup as a source of amusement. 

"I caught one, you can come back in, Hiccup," Jack exclaimed waving a red ball at him.

Hiccup had been pegged out three times already, only to be saved repeatedly by Jack who seemed to be able to catch two balls at once. "Come on this is getting ridiculous. My face is like a ball magnet," he said running back onto the court and standing vigilant in front of a pin. 

Jack tripped, dropping a ball and laughed loudly. His eyes were wide as he said, "Oh my Jesus. I'm not even going to comment on that. I can't." The white-haired boy shook his head while he saved another ball from rolling across the boundary. 

"Oh you're sick!" Hiccup retorted, ducking a ball and almost knocking his own pin over. He subsequently tripped over a ball by his feet, landing squarely on his ass. But the pin was still upright, so he counted it as a win.

"Fine. Less ball jokes and more pelting Flynn," Jack said. And he threw a ball hard at the boy across the line, finally hitting him in the shoulder with a thud. "Ha! You're out Flynn! "

In the end Flynn's team still won. Hiccup failed at protecting the pins, and Jack had been overly distracted by hitting Flynn even when he was out and sitting on the sidelines. But Coach Bunnymund congratulated them all on a spirited game.

"You know, I feel like Coach should be called Kangaroo-man not Bunnymund," Jack mused as he pulled of a sweat soaked shirt, revealing his damp chest. 

"Don't let him hear you say that," Flynn replied, tapping him cordially on the peck after throwing his own shirt haphazardly into his locker. "He'll kick your ass no problem."

Hiccup listened in, feeling like an interloper in their easy conversation. Yet Jack tossed him a smile. "Can I force Flynn and his lady friend to sit with you and Merida at lunch?" he asked, laughing when Flynn groaned overdramatically

"Oh. Actually I'm not going to be in lunch today. I'm sure Merida will like the company though." He had planned to spend lunch finishing his art project, although, he would probably end up overworking the sketches as usual. 

Jack frowned, but shrugged. "Oh. Alright. Cool. I'll see you sixth period though."

Hiccup chuckled. "Yes. Let's actually make it this time."

Flynn raised an eyebrow at them both before clearing his throat loudly. "I don't suppose either of you noticed the bell ring?" To which the answer was obviously a resounding no. 

Jack whacked Flynn on the shoulder before hoisting his bag up and following him from the locker room. "See you later, Hiccup," he tossed over his shoulder before walking out. Hiccup followed after tying his shoes, and hurried to his third period class, feeling strangely positive for having just come from gym class. And by the time lunch period rolled around, he was torn between going to lunch just because, and actually finishing his project.

In the end he decided to stick with his plan, and took his favorite spot in the empty art room. His teacher was out, but she didn't mind if he spent his lunch periods there. The junior pulled out his sketchbook and a piece of vine charcoal. He savored the feeling of the strangely light utensil before lightly shading the Image of a sailboat he sketched the day before. 

The object of the project was to make the shading arbitrary. He would have to resist the urge to keep his shading realistic, so against his better judgment he pressed down hard on the charcoal breaking it on the end. He winced, but instead of sighing in frustration, he smeared the overtly dark line. It looked good, if he squinted. But he always had to squint; otherwise his view was too jaded. Squinting, or backing up even, gave him a different perspective and helped him figure out what needed to be done. 

He bit down on his tongue and was about to rub the overly dark line in more when his phone buzzed for an obscenely long time in his pocket. At first, he wondered who in their right mind would be calling him during school. But when he pulled his phone out, he realized he just amassed more texts than usual. “What the hell?” he muttered to himself, not recognizing the two numbers which had both send him multiple texts.  
 _Thank you for subscribing to the Sex-text Hotline_ , one text read. And Hiccup frowned, confused but he hit the next text in the thread. _Again we appreciate your patronage to the Sex-text Hotline. Reply HOT for more information about billing and services_ He kept scrolling, worried that someone had signed him up for some sort of weird kinky fetish line. _If you have received this message by mistake reply with UNSUBSCRIBE to prevent further messages._

Without giving it much though, Hiccup replied “unsubscribe” to the number and went to the next thread from the other unknown number. He recognized the area code as it matched his own. _Thank you for your purchase of (4) Assless Chaps from Victor's Secret Male Lingerie and Apparel. Your conformation code is 124852946661900._ Hiccup snorted, dropping his chalk and scrolling to the next text.

_Please visit our website for more offers!_ Without hesitating Hiccup replied with a "nope" and sent it in time for the other number to text back. 

_Sorry for the inconvenience. We didn't realize you're no fun._ He laughed and texted back asking who it was, before going back to his shading. 

His phone buzzed again a few minutes later with the second number. _I'm sorry. "Nope" is not a valid potion._ Hiccup frowned, but his confusion was answered quickly with another text. _option* bahaha autocorrect. It's Rapunzel <3 in case you were wondering. I hope you enjoy your kinky pants_ Hiccup laughed and shot her back an "I will" when his phone received another message.

_I told you! The sex-text hotline._ Hiccup saved both the numbers to his phone before replying. _You're not very good at your job, Jack._

The response was almost immediate. _You caught me!_ And apparently Jack didn't uphold the social convention of no double texting because Hiccup quickly got two more texts from the white-haired boy. _What do you mean i'm not good at my job._ the first message said. _you didn't even ask for services! Reply HOT and we'll see how good I am. ;)_

Hiccup spent the rest of his lunch period trying to come up with a witty response that wasn't simply him replying "hot." Of course that meant he would have to spend the night finishing his shading at home Instead of in the Well-stocked art room. In the end he didn't reply and put away his stuff as the bell rang. 

"I believe you gave out my number willy-nilly!" Hiccup said, meeting Merida at his locker. 

"Psh, ye have like eight contacts. I was helpin' ye!" The curly, redhead grinned. "Rapunzel was sad she didn't have yer number already." 

Hiccup rolled his eyes but could actually find use for Rapunzel's number. "Whatever." He said before two clammy hands covered his eyes

"Guess who?"

"Rapunzel?" He joked. "Did your voice get deeper?" 

"Haha. Very funny." Jack said, dropping his hands. "You never even answered me."

"Sorry." Hiccup readied his bag with his sixth and seventh period supplies. "Hey, Mer, I'll see you next period, alright? You shouldn’t be late to this class again," he joked knowing Merida pushed the limits of time after lunch. 

"Aye! Don't miss me too much," Merida winked and flitted off to her classroom on the other side of the building.

Miss Dents was apparently in a great mood today. She informed the class that now that they had moved on from their dental hygiene section they were going to start on the drugs and alcohol section. 

"We're going to start out with a worksheet so we can figure out how much you all know about this," the colourful woman said while handing out papers. "I'm sure none of you will know any of the answers right?" She winked which added to her facetious tone. 

"Well I know I don't even know any drugs," Tuffnut said ostentatiously from the other side of the room, earning a great deal of snorts from the class. 

" _Sure_ you don't," Miss Dents retorted. "Just like I have no idea what you kids do over the weekends." She rolled her eyes. And some kid in the back exclaimed "Natty Light!" As if forgetting it was the middle of class. The health teacher didn't comment, instead explaining how they had ten minutes to individually fill out the worksheets.

Most of the questions were true or false about the effects or addictive properties of certain substances. But some involved street named of drugs, and Hiccup was secretly proud that he knew most of them--thank his addiction to Gangland and Lock Up. Honestly, he had never even been around someone so much as smoking weed, let alone anything else. And the most he had had to drink was during his dad's Christmas party when he and Merida stole a half-empty bottle of wine. Mostly that had made him overly thirsty and a little tired. But he enjoyed how red Merida's face had turned when her body warmed from alcohol. 

The rest of the class was spent going around the room answering questions. Not surprisingly most questions about weed and alcohol were gotten correct while things like GHB confused a lot of the students. But Miss Dents assured them they would all be experts on how to identify and avoid drugs. Although Hiccup was pretty sure it would just mean some students would have new things to try to pass aspirin off as to freshmen.

Still, the period flew by, and when the bell finally rang Jack turned to Hiccup. "I actually really hate Flynn, yet sort of agree with him at the same time..." he trailed off thoughtfully. 

Hiccup furrowed his brow, until he recalled Flynn's comment and burst out laughing. Most people found the young health teacher to be appealing, but for some reason hearing Jack say it amused Hiccup to no end. 

"Oh come on. I feel like I'm being ridiculed for divulging this to you. How can I ever trust you with anything?" Jack whined as they walked down the hall. 

The brunette quelled his laughter and held up his hands in defense. "I'm not judging! You can think dirty thoughts about whoever you want. It's not my business." He chuckled again.

Jack got a far off look for a second and opened his mouth to reply, but seemed to stop himself. "Crap! I forgot my notebook. I'll catch up ninth period. See ya Hiccup." And with that the tall boy took off down the hall.

The next two periods crawled slowly by, with a pop quiz in AP English about poetry terms, and an entire new grammar lesson in Spanish. So Hiccup was ready for the possibility of a documentary on schizophrenia or something during ninth period. However, as soon as he slumped down in his seat and laid his head down on the cool desk, his father’s voice came over the loud speaker.

_"All juniors and seniors, please report to the auditorium I lieu of attending your ninth period class. Thank you._

There came a collective "huh" from the class before they all consecutively rose from their desks. The shuffle of paper and zippers filled the silence. 

"What do you think this is about?" Rapunzel asked Hiccup nervously. Her wide eyes seemed larger with concern.

He shrugged, waiting for Merida and Jack to repack their bags. "Probably nothing. They haven't made prom announcements yet'" he told her, unconvincingly. The memory of the previous night's phone called weighed heavily on his mind. 

"Ooh prom!" Jack grinned. "I love dances. I get to show off all of my sick moves."

Hiccup just snorted and the four of them headed towards the auditorium where they filed in amongst the chaos of two grades in one room. They finally managed to sit down all together and waited for the bustle to calm. Stoick stood proudly at the front of the room, but off the stage. Really it did t matter because he towered over the room anyway. And when everyone was seated he began speaking, ignoring the microphone that Mr. Sandy was trying to hand him. 

"Thank you all for coming in so nicely," he boomed. His accent didn't do a thing to impede his clarity, and most of the students sat attentively, though some whispers pervaded the audience. "We have a few things to cover this afternoon. So in order to preserve time, I'm goin to pass the torch over to Astrid Hofferson to talk about the Junior Ring Banquet." 

Astrid hopped up from her seat and gave the room a gleeful wave before taking the microphone. "Hi everyone, as most of you know, I'm head of the pro--ring banquet committee. Uh, well we took a vote for the theme earlier this month, and we're proud to announce that the theme is red carpet." She paused as the room erupted into whispers.

Hiccup and Merida exchanged eye rolls at the apparent enthusiasm. It wasn't like they had anything against prom. It just that neither one had any desire to go all out for a stupid dance. 

"Okay. Well tickets are going to go on sale next week!" Astrid continued. "So remember that you need to get a form signed if you're bringing someone from outside of the school. And you need to have a different form if they are over the age of eighteen from your parents." Someone yelled another student's name, though Hiccup couldn't make out who over the chattering. 

Astrid seemed a little lost for words for a second before recovering. "I think that's it? Oh! Wait, also if you show up with alcohol or visibly intoxicated, then the chaperones are going to ask you to leave and you won't get your money back." She shrugged.

Jack grinned at Hiccup and whispered, "Visibly,” while Astrid gave the mic over to the head of the senior prom committee to explain their prom. 

Hiccup shook his head. There was no way he would go to prom even a little drunk. With his luck he would do something immensely embarrassing in front of literally all of his peers. And Merida would be no help, because enjoyed goading Hiccup to do embarrassing things all the time. Though she claimed to be helping him out of his shell, really she just was pure evil. 

By the time the senior girl had gone through her announcements the room seemed antsy--either from being talked at for too long or from the inciting news of prom. However, they weren't told to go back to their classrooms when the girl sat back down. Instead an unfamiliar man took the microphone and stood importantly on the stage.

He was tall, slender, with dark hair and features. And when he spoke it was with a chilling tone that quickly silenced the room. As his voice echoed throughout the auditorium, Hiccup realized that this man was not someone to mess around with. 

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I'm glad you're all excited about your upcoming formals. But I regret to inform you that those very events might not occur," he said, eliciting some gasps. "I'm sure you may have realized by now that there have been a fair many behavioral problems at this school. And that is why the district has sent me to overlook the goings on here at Berk." The man paused for dramatic effect. 

Hiccup glanced towards Merida, whose slim eyebrows were raised in concern as she stared open-mouthed at the man. 

"So allow me to introduce myself. I am Superintendent Pitch, and I am in charge of overseeing this school within the district." Hiccup half expected him to bow with the pompousness he exuded. "And throughout the next few weeks I will be closely interacting with the student and teachers, as well as implementing new sets of rules where I see fit. And if I find that this school is full of insubordination, I will not hesitate to enforce consequences such as cancelling the formals."

The brunette looked up at his dad, who stood off to the side of the stage. He recognized an expression on his father which he normally didn't see--fear. Apparently whoever this Pitch guy was, Stoick wasn't taking him lightly. And that scared Hiccup more than the measly threats the impending man spouted into the microphone. He felt his chest fill with a heavy guilt, knowing that part of this was because of the fight yesterday. 

Pitch continued on, and by the tome the man had finished discussing some new policies, the final bell had rung five minutes ago. At least Hiccup didn't need to run. In order to get the bus, and Instead he leisurely walked to his locker with Jack and Merida, who had a track meet after school, and Rapunzel, who tagged along. 

"Well that went greaaat," he announced, clearly sarcastic.

"Yeah, but I'm not really sure if I can pull off Hollywood red carpet for prom. I would have preferred maybe a winter wonderland theme," Jack joked, earning a whack and a chuckle from Merida. 

Hiccup shook his head but smiled, sort of grateful for the diffusion of the tension.

"This is really weird guys, but I swear I know that man from somewhere," Rapunzel said, twirling a lock of her obscenely long hair. "Has he come here before?"

Hiccup chewed on his lip and shook his head. He would likely have remembered such an imposing man as Pitch. "No I think this was his first visit. At least that I can remember."

The blonde pouted. "Maybe I'm wrong. I just swear I've seen him and met him. But where would I have?" She shrugged and grinned. "I have to go find Flynn though. He probably misses me--the clingy bastard. See you tomorrow guys!" She waved and nearly skipped down the hallway, any previous concern seemingly gone.

"And I must leave ye two ta get ta yer prison sentence," Merida grinned. "Enjoy." She winked and headed to the locker room. 

Jack looked at Hiccup and laughed, clapping him on the shoulder before leading him to the detention room for another excruciating hour.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I had a few more ideas for this chapter, but when I ended the scene I realized it would sort of ruin the effect I had. And really, I liked this part too much to add more. But I will apologize for the lack of plot development. But I won't apologize for the Merricup. And I also want to double thank Stacalynn for her support! She's been awesome. Anyway... I really hope you like this as much as I liked it. It might be my favorite chapter so far <3 Let me know how you feel and expect another update next week at the latest.

**Chapter 4**

  


Friday gave way to the sweet taste of freedom. Not only did it universally symbolize the weekend, but it also meant Hiccup and Jack's detention was over. It hadn't been so bad, really. Mr. Sandy had provided them with crossword puzzles and word searches, most likely in an effort to keep them quiet. Of course, it failed. Jack always asked Hiccup where certain words were or made up his own answers to word searches. The latter caused an inappropriate bought of the giggles in both boys. Sandy was not amused.

"Freedom!" Jack exclaimed the moment they exited the school. The chill of winter still clung to the air whenever a breeze brushed through. But Jack hardly seemed to mind. He twirled around with his hands in the air. "Sweet, sweet freedom!"

Hiccup laughed. "Okay drama queen. It wasn't that bad." He followed Jack at a distance to avoid long, flailing limbs.

The taller boy whipped around and pointed a finger in Hiccup's face. "Don't even start with me. I saw your leg jiggling those last ten minutes. It was torture for you too."

"You caught me," Hiccup started backing towards the buses. "Is your--uh are you getting picked up again?" Jack had been picked up the day before by his guardian so Hiccup assumed it would be a regular thing.

"Nope." Jack adopted a shit-eating grin and held up a set of keys. "I will be driving myself home since I finally got a parking sticker." He jingled the keys obnoxiously in Hiccup's face.

"I didn't know you had your license, or a car for that matter," he replied, impressed. Most people at Berk had their licenses junior year but didn't bother getting a parking spot until their senior year. 

Jack smiled and shoved his hands into his hoodie pocket. "So what do you say? Need a ride home, or do you want to brave the bus?" He winked.

The brunette scuffed his sneaker onto the pavement. "I don't want you to go out of your way," he said. Although a drive home with Jack seemed like a much better option in comparison to sitting on the late bus. 

Jack flung an arm around his shoulders and began leading him towards the student parking lot. "I shall take that as a yes." 

Jack drove a 1996 Buick Century in the unsexiest tan imaginable. Of course, some areas the paint had been scraped away by who know what type of driving mishap. The doors creaked when they opened and revealed a dark maroon interior--which was barely visible beneath the mounds of takeout containers and various pieces of clothing strewn across the seats. It smelled strongly of peach, and four different tree fresheners hung on the emergency break. 

"Sorry I'm not sorry it's a mess." Jack shrugged and threw some cups to the floor and a pair of pants in the back.

Hiccup laughed and sat down to struggle with his seat belt. "What do you live in here or something."

Jack shrugged. "It's my domain. I do what I want." He started the car and began to back out just as Hiccup managed to tug his seatbelt from between the door and the seat. "Oh, that seat does not adjust. And there's no hear, but I probably have like eight sweatshirts in here and some underwear possibly. So you can make a nest if you’re cold." He sped unceremoniously out of the parking lot.

"Ha, thanks for offering me your underwear for my warmth. I really appreciate the thought."

"Psh, they're most likely clean. Besides people would kill to cuddle with my boxer-briefs. Believe me, ask Flynn." Jack switched radio stations, swerving slightly into the other lane.

Hiccup gripped the door handle but tried not to look terrified. "Okay, too much information. Ah break!" he shouted instinctually as Jack hit the breaks that the last second.

Instead of seeming offended, Jack laughed maniacally. "I probably should have warned you I like to drive like an asshole. It's more fun. But if you want I'll tone it down." There was that wink again. 

"Well I'd rather not die just yet. Sooo." Hiccup said, relaxing as Jack put a little distance between them and the car in front of them. 

"No worries. I've never been in an accident though," he said proudly then added, "Okay well, I've never been in an accident with a moving object. Just dividers. And maybe a stop sign once."

Hiccup snorted. "That's all very comforting."

"Hey blame the car, not me." He banged on the steering wheel. "Also am I even going the right way to your house? I just started driving, but I don't know where you live."

Hiccup directed him to keep going straight for a bit before turning right, which of course was a very sharp right. Hiccup wacked his head slightly on the window.

"Sorry! Warn me sooner when I have to turn," Jack told him, appearing genuinely apologetic. And he followed Hiccup's directions smoothly for the rest of the trip. "Wow your house is gorgeous."

Blushing, Hiccup shrugged. "It's okay. Thanks. And thanks for driving me. Did you want gas money or anything?"

Jack shook his head. "Nope. I liked the company!"

"Alright, cool. Well I'm glad you didn't kill me Evil Knievil." Hiccup pulled himself out of the car and shot a grin back at the other teen.

"There's always next time. We didn't even do any of the donuts." He chuckled at Hiccup's paling face. "I'm kidding. I only do that when I'm drunk," he joked. 

Hiccup allowed himself to laugh. "Clearly someone was not paying attention in health." Before shutting the door, he added, "Text me when you get home so I know you're alive." Jack waved at him and sped out of the driveway, leaving Hiccup to spend the remainder of his afternoon cleaning and waiting for Merida to come over.

Merida had, of course, seen Hiccup's room at its absolute messiest, so the boy couldn't care less if his best friend had to maneuver through piles of socks and books. But Stoick had been struck by the parent-bug that morning and gave him the age old stipulation: if you don't clean your room your friend can't come over. 

So Hiccup spent a few hours in the middle of his room trying to sort through dirty pants, clean pants, and dirty pants which could pass as clean. He wasn't a slob, and he actually was pretty organized. But after a long time of constant school and a lack of drive to get his clothes in the hamper, the room sort of exploded.

His half-hearted attempt took until five, nut he felt better at having organized slightly. And his newly made need helped give a nice and tidy aura. So he texted Merida and headed downstairs to see what his dad was up to. 

Usually on Friday nights the principal of Berk high went out with some of the other faculty to happy hour. From what Hiccup understood, it was their way of detoxing from the week. Hiccup preferred pizza and shitty Syfy movies. This night was no different, and Stoick stood at the counter scarfing down a sandwich. Hiccup waved to him and set up the Netflix in the living room.

"Oi!" Merida called as she walked in without announcement a half an hour later. "Sorry I'm late." She flopped down on the couch tossing her bag to the side and toeing off her shoes. "Mum didn't get back early like she said, an' I had to watch the twerps," she said, referring to her three little brothers who were notoriously mischievous. 

Hiccup raised his side of the blanket allowing her in. The redhead scooched closer and slipped her bare feet beneath Hiccup's thighs. "Jeez your feet are cold!" he exclaimed but let her stay. They had been friends long enough to acquire a comfort level with each other which couldn't be replicated. Hiccup squirmed a little when Merida wiggled her toes. "So Dinocroc V. Supergator or Mansquito?" he offered.

"Both!" Merida said jumping up a bit, and Hiccup chose one to play. "I have amazing news by the way."

"Oh?" Hiccup pulled one of her curls straight and let it boing back into place before absentmindedly repeating the action. 

"I've been asked ta teach an archery class!" She clasped her hands together excited. "My instructor said I'm advanced enough, especially after winning those competitions last month."

He grinned. "That's awesome, Merida. When do you start?"

She shrugged and told him within the next ta weeks. She would be starting as an assistant trainer and then move up in time. Hiccup honestly couldn't be more proud. While archery wasn't his thing, he knew she thrived on it. And seeing his best friend progressing in something she was so passionate about caused his chest to swell with elation for her. 

"Basically it means I'll have very little time for boys. Sorry mum." Merida winked.

Hiccup nibbled on his lip. "You know, you have a chance with basically all of the guys in school, you really don't want to take a chance on any of them?" he asked, though they had gone over this numerous times. "I mean high school is about like shitty relationships right?”

The redhead shrugged. "I'm not worried about it. I want ta worry about me not about what some idiot boy thinks of me. I suppose if someone interesting came along..." she shrugged. 

He understood, really. But unlike Merida, Hiccup never had a chance for any relationship, and part of him--a desperate teenaged part--wanted nothing more than just a silly romance that was destined to fail. "Someone interesting? Like Jack?"

With a snort Merida said, "He's interestin' fer sure. He's not interested in _me_ though."

While Hiccup begged to differ, he wasn't sure how to tell her so. And knowing Merida, she would come up with an excuse as to why she wasn't going to go for it. But to be honest, he did envy her independence. 

"So are ye plannin' on askin' Astrid, since we're on this topic?" She didn't need to clarify for Hiccup to know she meant to prom. And he thought about it, and thought about it, and he still was undecided.

"Snotlout will probably ask her." 

She pulled a face. "So yer gunna let that stop ye. Great. Hiccup: the real man."

Hiccup leaned back the couch focusing on the horrendous CGI on his television. "Going alone isn't so bad. We can go as a group. We'll invite Fishlegs or something. And we'll just be casual." Despite how terrible that sounded, it was better than risking Snotlout calling him out on stealing his woman or something. 

"Nevermind I'll stay home then!" She laughed, and poked his cheek before rearranging her position to accommodate Toothless. She leaned on Hiccup, and he automatically buried his hand in her curls and played with her hair as she scratched Toothless' ears. 

After a while Hiccup wondered if she had fallen asleep only for her to break the silence. "I guess if Pitch has his way we won't have to worry about dates or dresses or dancin' or anythin'." 

He twisted two of her red spirals together and let them go forming one big curl. "I feel like that's my entire fault." He separated another lock, and Toothless began purring loudly. 

"Shut up. Ye know Berk has a bagillion fights all the time. One wouldn't have made a difference," she told him. "Besides it's not like Pitch has done anything besides empty threats. He's probably full of hot air."

"Or maybe he'll be terrible like Umbridge in Harry Potter."

"Hiccup Haddock you are the most pessimistic person I know." Merida poked his cheek with one of her boney fingers. "And anyway, your dad's a wonderful principal. They're not gunna find anything wrong."

He shrugged, wanting to drop the subject. It made his stomach hurt and his muscles ache for no reason. "Jack drove me home today."

Merida sat up straight. "What? He has a car?" She then nodded, as if answering her own question. "That's why he wasn't on the bus!" Her round eyes widened. "I wonder if he'd drive me! He lives close. I bet he would. What do you think?"

"How would I know?" he said. "You could probably ask. But he drives like a maniac--fair warning. " 

She brushed him off. "Have you ever been in the car with my dad? I think I can handle Jack."

Hiccup chuckled. "Suit yourself." The rest of the night passed like any other Friday night. And after demolishing a rotisserie chicken like it was their job, and two more horrible movies, both teens trudged up to Hiccup's bedroom. Merida took the bathroom first and came put in an oversized t-shirt and sweatpants before bundling herself up in Hiccup's bed. 

When he finished changing for bed and brushing his teeth, she was nearly asleep. And he crawled in next to her. After a while, both of their parents realized they weren't going to end up in the throes of a torrid love affair ending In Merida pregnant and Hiccup baby-daddy of the century. So it was decided the two could have sleepovers despite the gender difference. Hiccup secretly though each of their parents hoped one day the two would wake up and realize they were in love. Unfortunately that was just not going to happen. 

"Switch pillows with me this one is yours," Hiccup said, tugging the pillow from beneath a layer of thick red hair and replacing it.

"Mmm," the sleepy girl mumbled, barely moving from her position--though that was likely to prevent Toothless from playing attack the feet. "Hiccup?" she said before her breathing had truly even out.

"Yeah?" His voice came out louder than he intended in the dark of his room.

"I don't need a relationship 'cause I have ye." 

He laughed. "Same. You're my non-sexual life partner," he teased. 

"Oi!" she said, more awake. "I was tryin' ta be heartfelt and sweet and ye ruined it. I take it all back. Arse." She reached behind her and pinched him without looking. 

Hiccup just chuckled and cuddled into her warm form a bit, comfortable in the fact that neither of them wanted more from the other. Relationships or not, Merida was the closest thing he had to a mind clone, and in a lot of ways that was more important than a stupid teenaged romance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, you can check out my [ tumblr](http://llaryloo.tumblr.com/) and ask me things if you want.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am soooo sorry for the wait you guys! I had to finish up classes, then come home, then go back to school, then graduate--all while finding a job! Anyway, enough with the excuses, I hope this chapter is good. You guys have been the sweetest, and I just want to make you happy with what I write. So tell me what you think of this one. I like to call it "Hiccup gets all of the prom date options but is too dense to notice." And I am hoping to speed up my posting time now that I have a steady job and no school.
> 
> Alsooo my Microsoft word is well--I don't know dead. So I did this on open office which is like Word's derpy brother. So I really am sorry about grammar mistakes. I write these on my phone and edit on the computer, but derpyoffice is not so good at grammar checks. Also my coding is weird on this computer, so it might look different than the other chapters. I'm going to try and fix it as soon as I can.

**Chapter 5**

Monday morning  brought about another tense bus ride. Snotlout's suspension Friday, meaning he might back in action the second Hiccup stepped on the bus.  The brunette took his normal seat and sunk down so the top of his head didn't peak over. He could hear Snotlout talking loudly to his posse in the very back, and prayed to every deity he could think of that he'd be left alone.

"Mind if I join you?" Before Hiccup could look up  Astrid plopped down next to him and shifted her bag on her lap. 

He smiled, feeling a little anxious. "Guess not." He couldn't stop himself from instinctively looking back towards Snotlout and the twins. 

"Don't worry about him. He's regaling the twins with his weekend exploits." The blonde gave him a playful wink. "I'll protect you."

Hiccup rolled his eyes but grinned. "Psh, come on. I don't need you to protect me. I'm... totally butch!"

Astrid snorted as she laughed. "Sure. Okay.  So butch." She grabbed his bicep and squeeze. 

"No fair. I wasn't even flexing." He prided himself in suppressing his semi-embarrassed blush. He had some muscle tone, but it wasn't exactly obvious from his self-proclaimed noodle arms. 

"Well I'll warn you next time and you can get ready for me." She gave him a look which he didn't know how to interpret.  But before he could think to much her tone got serious. "So, I know you probably know as well as we do, but you don't think your dad will let this Pitch guy cancel prom right?"

Hiccup swallowed the lump in his throat which had formed as he remembered the fear in his dad's eyes. "No. I doubt he could do that. It's probably a red herring."

Her shoulders slumped In relief and she sighed. "Awesome. We've been working so hard. I'd be really upset." She grinned again. "Are you going to ask anyone? " Her eyebrow arched curiously. 

"I don't know. Maybe." He bit the inside of his cheek and thought about Jack for some reason. "I have to see." While Merida might have options, if Hiccup didn't have a date she would definitely not go with any of them and chose a friend date with him. But Hiccup would feel terrible if she actually had a chance with Jack--or anyone. But the only girl he could think of was Astrid. And while she was sitting close enough that he could feel the warmth of her thigh on his, he doubted she would actually agree to it.

"Well, I'm sure whoever will think they're the  luckiest girl in the world."

Hiccup was glad the bus pulled up at that moment, because he couldn't tell if Astrid was literally making fun of him, or just giving him amicable bullshit out of pity. Neither one sounded quite desirable, really.

First period came with an anxious hum of whispers. In fact none of the students seemed to be entirely focused on their work. Even Merida turned to Hiccup during the do now. "Did you hear?"

Hiccup shook his head. "Uh. Apparently not?"

Merida lowered her voice and waited until Mr. Hughes walked to the other side of the classroom. "Apparently an entire bus got detention for being late, even though it was because of traffic!"

"What?" Usually if a student was late due to personal problems (i.e. not being able to get their lazy ass out of bed) they would be given late slips. And after three within a month they got detention.  Usually even that didn't happen because parents generally would write notes for their kids. And Hiccup had never heard of anyone getting reprimanded for a bus being late.

"Apparently Pitch stood by the front door handing retention slips out the second he saw the bus pull up."  

Hiccup frown and put his head on the desk, questions running through his mind. How could his dad let something like that happen? And how much power did this guy actually have of he could just give out unnecessary detentions.  Luckily Mr. Hughes seemed to be in a generous mood that period and spared them all the intense lecture followed by a lab, instead giving them an easy worksheet. 

Hiccup let Fishlegs work with him and Merida. It made the work about ten times easier, but fifty times more awkward as Fishlegs kept dropping blatant hints about prom to the redhead. Though, Hiccup wasn't surprised when she didn't bother acknowledging any of them. And Hiccup only could be thankful that the hefty boy didn't go as far as to ask her right then and there.  But he could see how relieved Merida was  as the bell rang and she nearly bolted to Gobber's class.

"God, she is beautiful," Fishlegs mused to Hiccup, clearly disappointed he didn't get to snag her away before she ran off.

Hiccup just patted him on the back and walked to art. Rapunzel walked in after him, which wasn't typical of her. She usually liked to spend as much time as possible on her projects. But today she trudged into the classroom moments before the bell rang looking a little less chipper than usual. 

"Everything okay?" Hiccup asked when she sat down. Her long hair was tied up in the most obscene bun Hiccup had ever scene, though she still made it look cute.

Rapunzel nodded. "I'm fine.  I'm tired."

"Are you sure? You look kind of rough." In retrospect it probably wasn't the best thing to say. And Hiccup realized as soon as the blonde girl's lip quivered.

"People can have bad days, Hiccup." 

Hiccup gave her a nervous smile. "I know. I just mean--you're always beautiful!  You just look upset. Not..." He relaxed as she giggled at his babbling.  "What I meant was, if you need to talk about anything you can talk to me." After years of dealing with Merida's raging mood swings, Hiccup was able to deal with girls rather well--in a friend way at least. 

Rapunzel gave a burdened sigh. "I just had a rough weekend.  I think my mom might know about Flynn and I." She pouted, but didn't seem on the verge of tears. "And I'm worried that if she does she'll make me break up with him."

Hiccup raised his eyebrows.  He knew her mother was sort of a nutcase,  but Rapunzel and Flynn had been dating seriously for over a year and Gothel didn't seem aware of it.  "Why do you think she found out?"

The blonde shrugged.  "She told me I'm forbidden to go to prom. It came out of nowhere. And she got all weird," she said. "But it doesn't matter because Flynn hasn't even asked me to prom anyway."

He furrowed his brow. "Uh, you're dating.  Isn't it sort of a given that you're going together?"

She rolled her eyes and leaned over to pat him on his head. "Romance must really be dead," she said jokingly.  "So, which lucky lady is getting a piece of Hiccup on prom night?" She winked.

"Uh," he laughed nervously.  "Maybe no one."

"Well, if Flynn doesn't ask me, I'm available," she teased.

Hiccup laughed much too loudly, and the other art students looked up from their drawings. "Yeah," he lowered his voice. "But I sort of like my limbs intact. And I don't think Flynn would appreciate it."

"So that's a maybe?" Rapunzel asked, as before they were both shushed by their teacher. 

The rest of the day was going rather well--at least in Hiccup's opinion.  Although mutters of the imposing superintendent buzzed around the school.  But Hiccup hadn't so much as caught a glimpse of the man by ninth period.  Merida on the other hand sat at her desk by Rapunzel and Jack with a detention slip fresh in her hand.

"I was late ta eighth period," she told Hiccup as he took his seat. She waved the slip like a flag, seemingly unfazed by it. 

He frowned. "Maybe if you didn't talk so much between seventh and eighth," he scolded her good-naturedly.

The redhead was about to retort when, just as the bell rang, Pitch walked into the room. Somehow he looked taller--more terrifying--in the enclosed space of the room.  "Good afternoon," he greeted both the class and the teacher, Mr. Scala. “I hope you won’t mind me sitting in on your lesson.”

Usually the administration observed classes once in the beginning of the year to make sure the teacher was covering basic curriculum--although occasionally teachers were observed twice if they were new. But Hiccup had never seen anyone so high up as the superintendent observe a class so late in the school year. 

“Not at all, why don’t you have a seat Mr. Pitch,” Mr. Scala said cheerfully, though he seemed a little taken aback by the unannounced visit. He still gave a friendly smile and gestured to a desk toward the back of the classroom. Instead of sitting, however, Pitch continued to stand, pacing slowly in the back of the room, as if inspecting each inch of floor. Luckily, Mr. Scala seemed relatively unphased by the unorthodox method and began his lesson on psychopaths and sociopaths. 

For most of the class, Pitch said nothing, but simply scribbled on his clipboard. And it was clear that the class was nervous with him around--since the usually high energy bunch of students were all hesitant to raise their hands and participate in the discussion. 

Jack leaned over halfway through the class and whispered, “Can I borrow a pen or something? Mine died on me.”

Hiccup nodded and dug into his pencil case to retrieve a spare for the other boy. “Here,” he muttered, not bothering to keep his voice down too low. And as he reached over to drop it onto Jack’s desk, the pen was snatched out of his hand by Pitch--who seemed to come out of nowhere.

“Mr. Scala, are you going to stand for students talking and throwing things in your classroom?” Pitch asked.

The psychology teacher looked alarmed, his eyes wide and mouth agape. “I--Mr. Haddock was just lending Mr. Overland a pencil,” he replied, stuttering.

Pitch’s eyes narrowed, and he glowered down at both boys. Hiccup felt that familiar feeling of fear and guilt as he had when he realized how worried his dad was about this. “Mr. Haddock? So you’re the principal's son?” 

Hiccup nodded, but didn’t respond. Luckily, before Pitch had anymore time to ask more questions, Mr. Scala spoke up, “I really don’t see any problem with this situation Mr. Pitch. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to finish my lesson before the final bell rings.”

In that moment, Hiccup would swear to anyone who asked, Pitch legitimately snarled and clenched his fist around the offending pen. But before he had time to dramatically whip around and slink to the back of the classroom as a super villain might, Jack spoke up again. “Can I, like, have that pen though? I sort of need it,” he said, showing none of the same fearful respect the rest of the classroom showed. Pitch tossed the pen onto his desk and walked--not slunk--back to his position in the back. Thankfully, the rest of the class went by smoothly, and when the bell rang, Pitch stayed back to talk to Mr. Scala. 

“Well, that was an ordeal,” Jack said, following Hiccup to his locker with Merida in tow. 

Hiccup started his combination. “Yeah, seriously. I thought he was going to snap the pen before he gave it back to you.”

Merida rolled her eyes and flicked a curl behind her ears. “Ye watch too many movies. People in real live don’t do that.”

The brunette mimicked her before saying. “Don’t you have detention, Missy?” He cocked his head, as if proving a point.

“I know. I know. No need ta rub it in,” she said, then looked at Jack. “Mind picking me up tamorrow?”

Jack shrugged. “Nope, just don’t be late.” He grinned at her. “See ya!” 

Merida waved to them and started towards detention as Hiccup shut his locker, and the two boys walked outside. 

“So, I think you want to experience chauffeur Jack again, don’t you?” Jack said, with a laugh, pulling Hiccup with him as he walked to the student parking lot.

Hiccup stumbled a little, trying to walk to his bus. “What? No, I can take the bus, it’s fine.”  

But Jack shook his head. “But Hiccup,” he whined. “I want to drive you home. I’m _offering_. It’d be rude to deny me the simple pleasure of company on my ride home.” Jack kept his grip on Hiccup’s forearm and continued to drag the smaller boy with him. 

“Oh my God, you’re actually doing this? This is happening, you’re taking me in your car against my will,” Hiccup said, now walking with Jack. “This is kidnapping. I’m being kidnapped by a kid with white hair.  I’m pretty sure you can go to jail for a really long time for this.” 

Jack laughed. “Just be happy I’m not making you ride in my trunk. I don’t think it’s been cleaned out since nineteen-ninety-nine.” He let go of Hiccup’s arm, and Hiccup tried not to be disappointed as he opened the passenger side of Jack’s car. 

They sped off, and Hiccup was glad that Jack seemed to tone it down since Friday--if only a little bit. “So apparently this Pitch guy is actually a dick,” Hiccup said, relaxing when Jack kept a safe distance from the car ahead of them.

“I know! I can’t believe Merida got detention. We’re a band of delinquents.” 

Hiccup laughed, realizing that somehow they had fallen into a sort of group with Jack, Rapunzel, and even Flynn--who was still conceding to eat lunch with them under the excuse that he and Tuffnut weren’t getting along. “Yeah, if we’re not careful, Pitch will cancel prom just because of how much trouble we cause,” he joked. He wasn’t exactly a trouble maker--though Jack may have been. To be honest the trouble tended to find him. So, perhaps he was more of a trouble magnet.

“Ugh!” Jack said, hitting his break as he whined. “Don’t even remind me. I hope he cancels it. That way I don’t have to worry about finding a date or being _that_ guy that goes alone.”

Holding onto the middle armrest as they took a sharp turn, Hiccup said, “ Well, I mean it’s not like you’d be the only one going alone.” He didn’t add that it was extremely likely that everyone in school would be tripping over themselves to get a chance at Jack.

“Easy for you to say,” Jack said causing Hiccup to frown. “Flynn and Rapunzel are going to go together, and you and Merida--”

“Wait, what?” Hiccup interrupted. “Merida and I? We’re not going together.”

Jack’s eyes widened. “You’re not going to prom with your own girlfriend?” he asked, surprised.

Though he tried, Hiccup couldn’t stop himself from laughing. Of course Jack wasn’t the only one to assume he and Merida were a couple, but he had thought that after nearly a week of hanging out it was perfectly clear they were _not_ dating. He managed to stop his giggles when he saw Jack’s frown. “Sorry, no. Merida and I--we’re just friends. Best friends, but, no. Not even. I’m flying solo just like you.” He frowned. “I can’t believe I just said flying solo. And I can’t believe you thought I was dating Merida.”

Jack nodded, sucking his bottom lip into his mouth. “Well, I guess I feel like an idiot now.”

“What? No, don’t. We’re weirdly close. People get confused. I just sort of--I don’t know I thought you knew,” he stumbled, not sure what exactly he had assumed. “At least we can be dateless together though.”

“Or,” Jack said, slowing down and turning his head to give Hiccup a look with his intense blue eyes. “We _could_ go to prom together. I mean, since we both are dateless and everything.”

Hiccup laughed and nodded. “Oh yeah,” he answered with a touch of sarcasm. “And we can get matching ties and stuff.”

Jack’s face lit up a little. “Or we could have like opposite ties and vests so we don’t match but we do,” he said as if he were really considering the option.

“If only it were that easy right?” Hiccup sighed, wishing that maybe Jack had been serious. Though, how could he explain that to his dad? Besides, he still liked Astrid--didn’t he? Why was he even considering this as anything? Jack was just kidding.

Though, the previous light in Jack’s face seemed to dim, and Hiccup felt a small knot in his stomach. “Right,” Jack concurred finally. “That would have made things so much easier,” he finished, saying nothing for the rest of the short drive to Hiccup’s house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anywayyy tell me what you think, and check me out on [tumblr](llaryloo.tumblr.com) and ask me things if you fancy! Or don't. Either way I love you just for reading.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHHHH!!! I am SO sorry for this wait guys. It's totally unlike me. I'm usually on my shit. But I had a crappton happen to me since I last updated (graduation, getting a job, quitting the job, moving, getting another job, work for seven days straight, etc.). And then when I finally got down to it my muse was like HA nah bro. So, I would like to first apologize for the wait, and second apologize for the mehh of this chapter. But I'm regaining my muse, and I am loving the next few chapters I have planned. So yeah. Again, sorry I'm such a turd. But mucho thanks to the betaing done by my precious love stacalynn who has been so supportive through...oh wait this isn't an Oscar's speech. But yeah, still derping out in the computer department guys. No word on a light at the end of the tunnel.
> 
> **Also short not on dialect. I am perfectly aware that Stoick has an accent, but for some reason when I got to write it out as it sounds in my head, it doesn't sound like it needs any alterations... Merida's does but his doesn't. So that's why I don't write it for his. I just don't want it to become distracting for me to write or for you to read if I force it out!!
> 
> (end unreasonably long author's note)

**Chapter 6**

"I have some intense news guys," Rapunzel said as she sat down at their suddenly formed group's usual lunch table. The blonde had been acting jumpy all day, but Hiccup was glad her usual pep seemed to have returned.

"Yes! We know you've probably told everyone twice already about your news," Flynn whined. He was still acting distraught about being forced to sit so far from the cool kids table. He used the excuse that he and Tuffnut were arguing over something to save face-but everyone saw right through him. 

Rapunzel scoffed. "I didn't want to have to tell the story twice, Jerk." She not-so playfully punched Flynn before turning back to the table and adopting a serious look. She lowered her voice substantially and said, "I figured out where I've seen Pitch before." She paused and looked around to ensure the man in question wasn't around. "He and my mom are, like, friends or something," she explained.

Jack, who had been feeding himself grapes by dangling them over his head as he rocked on the plastic chair, fell back to the ground with a quizzical look. "Friends like how?" He raised his eyebrows insinuating there maybe more to the word "friends."

She shrugged. "I don't know. But I met him a few months ago, for like thirty seconds in the grocery store with my mom. They were all sketchy, and I kind of forgot about it until I answered the phone and it was him!"

"He called your house?" Hiccup asked, pulling a face.

"Yeah," she confirmed. "And not because I was in trouble or anything, but to actually talk to her." She frowned. "But now I'm worried that he's going to be telling her everything I do." She Hiccup a meaningful look as her eyes flicked over to Flynn. 

"Well you can't really do anything about it," Hiccup said. "So don't worry too much about it." He gave her a small smile, hoping to reassure her. 

She nodded. "Although, it does mean I have a bit of an advantage on him too. And I'm sure I can listen in on their conversations, if they have anymore," Rapunzel all but whispered. Her eyes shone bright with excitement at the idea of being a pseudo-spy.

"Wait," Merida said. "Why would ye need to spy on 'em? Do he think he's up to somthin'?"

"The man has a British accent and the scary, sexy villain thing going on, of course he's up to something," Flynn said. 

Jack snorted into his Snapple. "Sexy? What are you?" He asked when he finished swallowing. "Do you find every adult in this school sexually attractive."

Flynn shrugged shamelessly. "Maybe."

Hiccup didn't hide his look of terror. "Hey can we not talk about this in front of the kid who's dad is one of said adults?"

"That was a lot of round about description, Hiccup," Jack commented finishing off his grapes. "But I think you guys are right, Pitch seems to be up to something."

Hiccup frowned. While he thought the guy was ridiculous in his newly instated rules, he wasn't sure if the man was up to anything besides terrorizing students. Yeah, that was an excuse enough not to trust him, but Hiccup couldn't imagine his dad would be under scrutiny for long. The PTA always talked about how great of a principal he was, and while disciplining certain behavioral issues wasn't Stoick's strengths, even Hiccup had to admit that he was good at his job. And the students loved his rough attitude and crude sense of humor. 

"I dunno," Merida interjected. "I think ye all are bein' a bit overdramatic. The man is just mean' yer diggin' too deep inta it."

Though Hiccup was inclined to agree with her, Jack and Rapunzel shared a look, displaying how they weren't convinced. 

"What if we're not?" Jack asked.

"Well what can we do about it? We’re just kids."

Jack adopted a mischievous grin. "No, _you're_ the son of the principle, and Rapunzel's mom might be dating the guy. I think we could do some damage." 

Hiccup rolled his eyes as the white-haired boy continued to explain how Rapunzel should do her best to spy on her mom and find out anything to do with Pitch. Merida shot Hiccup and amused look as the two of them plotted the rest of lunch. Still, it was nice to pretend to be worried about something besides prom.

The rest of the day was spent either talking about how best to figure out Pitch's evil scheme with Jack and Rapunzel, or talking about how the two of them were actually crazy with Merida. But crazy or not, Pitch clearly had the school worried. Even the teachers were overly tense, jumping each time the door opened. And it was likely that half of the student population had detention. The fear of a cancelled prom was becoming more of an issue among those that actually cared enough.

"Can we talk about how long this day has been?" Jack asked, and Hiccup followed him to the student parking lot. Jack didn't bother asking if Hiccup needed a ride home, and he stopped arguing. Merida got a ride to school from Jack every morning so clearly the boy didn't mind playing chauffeur to his unlicensed friends.

Hiccup climbed into the front seat and shifted the pile of garbage at his feet. "Come on, it wasn't so bad." 

"No you don't understand," Jack expressed. He pulled out of the parking lot quickly. "I have been here for almost two weeks, and I have done nothing fun except hang out with Flynn once. I don't know if that even counted as fun."

Hiccup laughed as Jack seemed to grow antsy. "Then go do something fun'" he replied, conveying with his tone that it was obvious. 

"I don't even know what there is to do around here."

Hiccup shrugged. "Actually nothing." He hesitated. "We could get Big Gulps or Slurpees and go to my house," he suggested. Merida and he had spent many summer afternoons walking to 7/11 from his house. And it usually was enough to give them something to do. 

Jack perked up almost instantly. "Yes. Please!" He turned the car quickly, apparently aware of how to get to the small town where a few stores and a movie theater. "You're full of good ideas, my friend."

Hiccup wasn't sure what to say, and he couldn't remember how clean his room was, or if he left his laundry from last night chilling on the floor. 

The 7/11 in town was an interesting place. During anytime of the day you could find strange groups of people flocking to it. Hiccup remembered going to the same one twice in one day. The first visit, the parking lot was packed with a biker gang. Then, not a few hours later a hoard of Rastafarians were loading up on snacks. Today, the patron of choice was a group of older ladies in tight biking attire. 

"Dibs on the one in the sweatband and stretchy pink shorts," Jack muttered as they walked to the back where the fountains were. Hiccup laughed so hard he nearly tripped. 

Jack stood in front of the Slurpee machine, his tongue poked out of his mouth while he stared at it accusingly. "I hate when I like all of the flavors." He sighed dramatically. Then he pulled the largest cup from the dispenser and proceeded to fill it with each flavor.

Hiccup scrunched his face up and took a smaller cup. "I hate mixing," he said filling his own cup with wild cherry as soon was Jack finished with it.

"Don't say those things to me Hiccup." Jack licked a bit of slush that spewed over the top of his lid somewhat lewdly. He laughed at Hiccup's raised eyebrows and said, "Its sacrilegious not to a least mix two."

The brunette shrugged. "What if I like one flavor better and then I'm disappointed there isn't more of that." 

Jack shook his head in mock disappointment and took Hiccup's cup. "That sounds like a fear of risk." Without asking the taller boy placed a dollop of piña colada in Hiccup's cup. "Your welcome for dragging you from your single flavored life."

Rolling his eyes, Hiccup mashed a straw into the cup and stirred a little so the white incorporated completely with the red. "Now it's like it was never there," he commented.

Jack choked back a laugh as they stood in line behind a woman with pants which left little to the imagination-unfortunately. "Well someone is wearing snarky pants today." He chewed absentmindedly on his straw before looking back over to Hiccup. "You're sure it's cool if I come over? You don't have to, like, ask your dad?"

"He usually doesn't care. I'll probably text him or something," Hiccup said. He frowned, wondering if maybe Jack just would rather not spend more time with him. "You don't have to come over if you don't want to. It was just a suggestion."

"No!" Jack said. "I just wanted to make sure it's okay. I'm glad we can hang out. Really." 

The way Jack smiled at him made Hiccup's heart speed up, and he sucked quickly on his drink in order to stop his face from heating up. Unfortunately, he drank too quickly and winced. "Fuck, brain freeze."

Jack grinned. " _Yes_ , hilarious!"

"No. Ah, horrible." Hiccup rubbed his forehead frantically trying to stop his eyes from watering at the ache.

Quickly, Jack exclaimed, "Put your tongue on the roof of your mouth!" He continued laughing as he watched the shorter boy's antics.

Hiccup frowned up at him but followed the instructions. By the time he was up to pay for his drink, the pain had subsided. Although, he couldn't be sure if it was from Jack's trick or just time easing it. He figured it was better to give credit to the time and spare Jack the big head.

After they got to his house, and Hiccup instructed Jack to park in the large driveway, Jack said, "What time does your dad get back?"

"Usually not so late," Hiccup told him when he opened the front door. "Around four. It depends though." He turned when he toed his shoes off and slung his bag onto the couch. Jack was still standing in the entry way shifting awkwardly. 

"He can't give you detention or anything when you're not in school, Jack."

Jack opened his mouth to reply. But before he could, Toothless hopped down from the top of the mantel and began violently hissing at Jack. "Holy sh--" Toothless swatted at the intruder's feet. "Is that a freaking panther?"

Hiccup scooped a struggling Toothless up. "Toothless, stop." The cat gave an unhappy growl. "Sorry, he's mean sometimes. He is picky about who he likes." 

"He almost killed me!" His laughter faltered a little.

"We'll go to my room and lock him out." He grinned. "He won't be able to get you there."

Jack rolled his eyes. "My hero."

Hiccup snorted. "Be nice to Jack," he said to the still growling cat. He nuzzled into his fur before he dropped him. "He'll get used to you. Most likely." 

"So does that mean I might get a second invite?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow.

Hiccup shrugged, not realizing he implied that. "Sure, why not?" The idea of hanging out with Jack more frequently was quite appealing. After school, Hiccup usually just finished his homework, watched tv, and sometimes Skyped Merida. She couldn't come over after school most days because she needed to babysit her brothers, or she had a sports commitment. It would be nice to have someone he could pass the time with during the weeknights.

"Sweet deal." Jack looked around expectantly. "So, where's your room?"

Hiccup led Jack up to his room, kicking Toothless away gently when he tried to sneak in with them. He was told to see his laundry was safe in the hamper, though his bed was in shambles. "Uh," he fumbled, unsure of what to say. 

Jack, however, made himself right at home and flopped onto Hiccup bed, lifting his Slurpee up so as not to spill. He wiggled a bit before leaning back on a pillow. "Your bed is killer," Jack said. "If you ever need someone to sleep in your bed for you, I'll offer my services."

The image of Jack cuddling up to him in bed passed through Hiccup's mind. But he shook it away and said, "Good luck fighting Merida."

The white-haired boy pouted. "She'd kick my ass so hard." He placed his cup on Hiccup's night stand. "So what do you want to do?"

Hiccup realized he was awkwardly standing there, so he climbed onto the bed. "I have Netflix. We could watch a movie." He very deliberately sat as close to the edge as he could.

"Okay! Movies are good."

Hiccup picked his laptop off of the floor. "Any preferences?" He mentally thanked himself from remembering to change his background back to a dragon after Merida switched it to Channing Tatum shirtless.

Shrugging, Jack said, "Something funny? Or action-y? Anything."

In the end they decided on Bad Teacher, which neither of them had seen before. But Jack waxed poetic for a bit about Justin Timberlake and the reviews seemed pretty good. Jack moved in close as Hiccup shifted his laptop on his lap. He could smell the other boy's shampoo or something, and Hiccup moved back a little. He had no problem with touching, he and Merida had no problem sharing personal space. But it felt different with Jack. It was like Hiccup was fully aware of every place where their bodies nearly touched-- how their legs were inches apart, or how Jack's shoulders brushed Hiccups every time he laughed. 

At one point Jack put his Slurpee chilled hand over Hiccup's, which lay between them. Hiccup made an embarrassing gasp and pulled his hand back. 

"Sorry," Jack said, his voice tight. He kept his eyes glued on the computer screen. 

Hiccup relaxed, confused by his own reaction. "No, it's fine. Just--your hand is cold." He forced a laugh, hoping to cover up any awkwardness.

Jack grinned. "Oh I'm sorry," he said, conveying no apology. "I guess I shouldn't do this then?" With very little warning, Jack shoved his hand down the back of Hiccup's shirt.

"No!" Hiccup yelped upon contact. His heart sped up and he rolled trying to get away from Jack's hand. "Not cool"

Jack removed his hand, laughing maniacally. "I'm sorry I couldn't help it." He settled back into his spot, letting his hand rest next to Hiccups so the tips of their fingers touched.

"Yeah well," Hiccup said. "Just keep your handcicles to yourself." He didn't complain, however, when Jack didn't break the contact of their fingers. The memory of his slightly wet hand was still imprinted on Hiccup's back. 

If someone asked what happened during the movie after that point, Hiccup couldn't exactly tell you. He was too busy focusing on the touch of Jack's finger tips, or the occasional brush of their thighs. And it bothered him that Jack seemed completely unaware that they were even touching. The other teen seemed invested in the movie. He erupted in bursts of laughter, or yelled at the screen when a character did something. Hiccup couldn't bring himself to find the movie more interesting than the boy next to him. He almost sighed in relief when the movie ended. 

"That was good!" Jack exclaimed, pulling his hand away and stretching. His shirt rode up, and Hiccup got a good view of the span of skin just below his bellybutton. "Cameron Diaz is beautiful. Did you like it?" 

Hiccup felt himself blush a little, wondering if this was a test. "Oh, definitely. I already want to rewatch it," he mumbled. But Jack didn't seem to catch on that he hadn't been paying attention. 

The bed shook as Jack flopped down into a laying position. "Alright, I'm ready for naptime," he said, and Hiccup couldn't tell if he was kidding or not. But Jack picked up his phone and checked then time. "Dude, it's almost six."

Hiccup checked his own phone. "My dad should have been home by now. I wonder what's holding him up."

"Should I go before he gets home?"

Shaking his head, Hiccup said, "It doesn't matter. If you have things to do you can leave. Or you could stay and order pizza with me or something."

Jack grinned. "I'm pretty sure its _impossible_ for me to leave after such a cordial invite." He winked.

"Pizza it is'" Hiccup announced, pulling out his phone and ordering a pie for the two of them. The two teenagers ate in the living room, watching Discovery Channel. Toothless spent his time whacking Jack on the feet or hissing from behind Hiccup's chair. It wasn't until Stoick walked in a little before seven that Hiccup and Jack stopped talking. 

The principal looked weary as he placed his things on the table. But as soon as he spotted Jack, he plastered on a grin. "Hey there, Jack right?" He stuck out his hand.

Jack took it grinning. "Yeah! You remember me?"

"The kid who helped Hiccup out in that fight on his first day; how could I forget?" Stoick replied. He winked though when he noticed Jack balk a little. "I'm glad to see you keeping him company.”

Jack laughed. "Of course, Hiccup's my buddy." Jack nudged the brunette boy, his blue eyes twinkling. 

Hiccup could tell that when his dad continued joking with Jack, the man was really thinking about how nice it was to see Hiccup hanging out with an actual boy. Or maybe it was that Jack was just sort of perfect. He was confident, despite having reserves about the principal coming home. And he laughed with Stoick so easily, that Hiccup couldn't even remember why he thought his dad had been tired when coming in the door. 

"I probably should get going, though. North will want me back before Hell's Kitchen comes on."

Stoick nodded, still looking at Jack fondly. "Aye, tell him I say hello." 

Jack shook his hand once more and glanced over at Hiccup. "Thanks for chilling with me." He smiled, the sides of his eyes crinkling a little.

"No problem," Hiccup said. "I'll see you tomorrow?" He kept his face pretty neutral as Jack winked at him and clapped him on the back before swanning outside like a gust of wind.

"He's a nice kid," Stoick mused as the door closed behind Jack. "You should have him around more often." The man's voice was rough, as if he had just remembered how tired he was.

Hiccup shrugged, wondering why he couldn't help his dad relax like Jack seemed to. "Yeah, I probably will." He swallowed. "Is everything okay, Dad?" He hesitated rethinking his plan of attack. "You got home pretty late." After he asked though, Hiccup wished he had just dropped the subject.

His dad exhaled. "Sandy got fired." He shook his head like he still couldn't believe it. "Well, suspended, but for an undetermined amount of time."

Hiccup felt his eyes widen. "Can he actually do that?"

"Of course he can, he just _did."_

Hiccup swallowed thickly. A knot of guilt sat in his chest. "Well, he'll leave soon enough right?" He tried to sound reassuring but it didn't come out that way. 

Probably not. He thinks I'm unfit to be a principal if I can't even handle my own son," Stoick said. "You picked a fine time to get into a fight." Stoick sighed once more and scrubbed his hand along his face. He turned to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of beer, opened it and took a big swig from it. “Maybe I _can’t_ control my own son,” he muttered quietly, not turning to face Hiccup again. 

There was nothing Hiccup could say, and while Stoick didn't seem violently upset, he seemed disappointed. And that was by far worse. Partly, Hiccup felt torn between utter guilt and frustration. His dad seemed proud that Hiccup was showing a semblance of masculinity before Pitch had come. And, while fighting wasn't something Hiccup was planning on continuing, he would like to have a clear picture of what his dad expected--at least that way he would know why he was missing the bar. 

As Stoick swallowed the rest of his beer, Hiccup cleaned up the pizza box and went to his room without a word. He slumped face first into his pillow and groaned when he realized it smelled like Jack. Resigned to his fate, he plopped that pillow on top of his other pillows and nuzzled into it, ignoring the judgmental glare Toothless was shooting at him 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow hey! It's been thirty five years. So I'm so sorry for this huge unwarranted hiatus. I have been working full time for the entire summer, and I don't get home until like way late--basically I'm a big ball of lame. I wake up, work, go home, sleep. But I finally found a muse and kicked this chapter out in like a day and a half. 
> 
> It's not my best, I'll admit it. But I did it. And I feel back in the groove. I wouldn't expect very regular updates. But I am going to try to post more often. And now that my hours are going to cool down, I should have more time anyway. 
> 
> I just want to thank everyone for the nice things you've all been saying, and for sticking with me and this story! I promise I haven't given up. Real life just takes priority sometimes. I love all of you! <3

**Chapter 7**

 

"Carbon atoms are the basis in which all life consists of,” Mr. Hughes droned on as he scribbled illegible notes on the board. “In fact, you could say that carbon is the key to organic chemistry.” He paused in his note writing to check the piece of paper on the podium in front of him. 

While he did that, the class sat stiff, writing notes diligently as Pitched walked up and down the aisles of desks. Mr. Hughes seemed completely unaware that any tension was mounting in his classroom. Jack seemed the most relaxed out of the students, rolling his eyes every time Pitch came close--clearly not up to dealing with the man’s shit. However, Hiccup didn’t feel the same sense of ease. He was convinced each time Pitch came into his line of vision that the imposing man would giving him a death glare. And to make matters worse, they were starting a new topic. And organic chemistry seemed more confusing than normal chemistry. 

Hiccup twirled one of Merida’s curls, which lay on his desk. The redhead was leaning back in her chair, and the boy didn’t have to see her face to know that she looked both bored and exhausted. Chemistry was already the toughest class when it came down to it, and lecture classes were the worst. But at least under normal circumstances the students could at least pass notes, or chat quietly when the teacher wasn't paying attention. But with Pitch looming, feigning interest seemed the only course of action. 

Looking over to Jack, Hiccup tried not to laugh. The boy's eyes were drooping and his face was resting in his hands. His cheeks were mashed comically, squishing his features. Hiccup couldn’t help but smile fondly at the scene. Honestly. Hiccup wouldn’t be surprised if Jack started snoring right there. However, his light thoughts were quickly quashed by the glare Pitch shot him from all the way across the room. And out of worry for his friend, Hiccup cleared his throat loudly, which stirred Jack out of state. The white-haired boy shot him a grin and wiped some invisible drool from his mouth. Hiccup smiled slightly before looking back to the scores of notes which now littered the chalkboard.

The bell couldn’t ring soon enough, and when it finally did, the classroom erupted with students hopping out of their seats--as if they couldn’t hit the door fast enough. Jack was one of the first out the door, while Hiccup and Merida took a little more time to collect their things. They wandered out with the few stragglers who were actually taking notes. 

“Mr. Haddock,” came Pitch’s voice from the classroom, stopping Hiccup at the doorway. “Perhaps we can have a little chat.” 

Hiccup turned back towards the man, who seemed to be closer to him than he had been a second ago. “Uh, sure?” Hiccup glanced over his shoulder; Jack lingered just outside of the door. “Is something wrong?”

Pitch smirked and shut the door--Mr. Hughes bustled around his desk in the back of the room unaware anyone was even in the room. “Wrong? Not entirely, no,” Pitch said. “I am just trying to learn all I can about the principal and his systems. So I thought who better to ask than his own son?” 

“I don’t know,” Hiccup said with a shrug. “Maybe you could ask him? Just a thought.”

The tall man’s eyes nearly twitched, and he clasped his hands together as if preventing himself from striking Hiccup. He opened his mouth, about to spew out some sort of icy retort to the high schooler’s sarcasm; however, the static of Stoick’s voice came over the loudspeaker summoning the Superintendent to the main office.

“Perhaps another time then,” Pitch told Hiccup, looking positively livid to be called away from what Hiccup could only describe as a mini-interrogation. 

Jack sidled up to Hiccup the moment he exited the classroom. “What was that about?” he asked, glaring after Pitch as the man slunk down the hallway.

Hiccup shrugged. “I don’t know. He wanted to know more about my dad, I guess. He didn’t get very far.” He didn’t question Jack as the boy walked with him to art class.

“Well, either way, it’s sketchy,” Jack said, walking into the classroom with him. “He’s really up to something. I wouldn’t tell him shit, Hiccup.” He gave Hiccup a very serious look, and then flopped down into the empty art chair next to him.

The brunette frowned. “Don’t you have class?”

Jack shrugged. “I might. But I’d rather hang out with you. Besides, I spaced on my homework. So I’m cutting,” he told him, with no hint of apology in his voice. 

Normally, Hiccup would make some sort of remark, but be somewhat ecstatic that Jack was cutting class to spend time with him. However, with Pitch wandering around, he couldn’t help but worry. “You could get in trouble. What if Pitch comes back to talk to me, or something.”

“Then he’s just going to have to deal with the fact that I’m here and not where I’m supposed to be,” Jack said darkly, conveying that he was ready for anything Pitch had to throw at him. 

A few minutes later, Rapunzel walked into the classroom, taking her normal seat at the table. “Hi guys,” she said. Her normal pep was subdued, as it had been for the previous few days. “What’s going on?”

Hiccup quickly explained to her the encounter with Pitch. Rapunzel seemed just as concerned as Jack had been. Still, her normal rage about Pitch was muted in comparison to the typical passionate reaction. 

“Punzie, are you okay?” Jack finally asked, breaking the tension that began mounting in the nearly empty classroom. He placed his pale hand onto Rapunzel’s small fingertips, and Hiccup recalled the chill of Jack’s hand on his own fingers. “Because you seem--not so okay.”

Almost instantly, Rapunzel’s eyes welled up with tears. “I don’t know.” She sniffled, wetly, holding the tears back just barely. “Flynn and I broke up.”

Hiccup felt his jaw drop, and Jack’s face conveyed a similar surprise. “What? But, you’re grossly in love!” Jack said, kneeling down so he could be closer to the blonde. 

“I don’t know. I just--it was for the best.” Rapunzel leaned her head forward, hiding her face behind a curtain of thick hair. “It’s not a big deal these things happen.” She took a shaky breath, but didn’t seem to be convinced by her own words. 

Hiccup leaned forward, noticing that Jack was now clasping both of Rapunzel’s hands, and looking at her with his piercing blue eyes. “Well, what happened? Did you break up with him?” He asked, knowing that it was the nice way of asking if Flynn had dumped her. However, part of him couldn’t imagine the boy ever doing better than Rapunzel.

She shook her head. “No, no. He told me he thought we should stop.” She scrunched her face up as she began sobbing harder. “It was too risky--with my mom and everything. And I don’t even know.” Tears finally began falling. “He’s seemed distant lately. And I think he’s been mad at me for hanging out with you guys. Things are just changed.”

“Hey, come here,” Jack said, tenderly wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. “Don’t do that to yourself.” He pulled her into a tight hug and caressed her hair. “You’re wonderful, and Flynn should know that. And if he doesn’t realize that, then he’s a complete idiot--well more of an idiot that I originally thought,” he told her, eliciting a tiny giggle. Hiccup knew he was going to be of no use in this situation. He could deal with Merida’s moods fine, but neither one of them had ever undergone a break up before. Clearly, Jack was more experienced in helping Rapunzel. And she seemed receptive to his cheering up. 

Hiccup watched quietly as Jack held her close and continued whispering sweet things to her. His arms completely enveloped her. Rapunzel cried for a few more minutes, nuzzling into Jack’s shoulder. Something deep inside Hiccup’s stomach panged. They looked cute together--they fit well. Although, he figured maybe Rapunzel fit nicely with any tall guy. Hiccup didn’t think he would fit with anyone as nicely as the two of them seemed to go right then. He wondered how it might be if Jack’s arms were wrapped around him instead. He was scrawnier than Jack, but not nearly as slight as Rapunzel was--or Merida. He frowned. It wasn’t fair really, Rapunzel used to have Flynn, and then the second she was no longer with him, she got Jack? Hiccup had no one--he never had anyone. 

He shook his head, trying to stop himself from going down that line of thought. None of this was Rapunzel’s fault--or even Jack’s. Self-pity wasn’t something that looked good on anyone. And Hiccup realized he was being stupid, immature, and jealous. He saw people everyday getting together and breaking up, it was high school. Who wouldn’t be jealous? And to see Jack and Rapunzel suddenly so close jarred him a little. Clearly, he was desperate--that was it. It had nothing to do with the fact that maybe he wanted Jack to gently touch his face as he was doing for Rapunzel. Or how he could remember how good the boy had smelled when they had been almost that close. Why would it have anything to do with that? 

Except Hiccup knew it did. It had everything to do with everything. He wasn’t sitting there being jealous over the prospect of a relationship. He was jealous because he was completely falling for Jack. And he couldn’t even deny it anymore. But he knew he would have to be fine with friendship. It just meant he would have to quash any jealousy he may have felt. Jack was amazingly attractive, and absolutely everyone in Berk had noticed. And he couldn’t get mad at everyone who looked the boy’s way. He had no right. Besides, if anything, having Jack be happy might be enough for Hiccup. Actually, who was he kidding, he would be so mopey if Jack got a girlfriend. At least he would be able to deal with it if he decided to date Rapunzel or Merida. 

“Thank you guys so much,” Rapunzel said as the bell rang. “I seriously don’t know what to say. You really brightened my mood.” She gave both of them a hug, though Hiccup was convinced she lingered on Jack for a few extra moments. 

“I feel so bad,” Jack muttered after they dropped her off at her third period class. “Flynn loves her, and I know she loves him. I wish I knew what happened.” 

Hiccup lifted a shoulder. “I’m sure you could talk to him. You two are bros right?” he asked, feeling slightly better at Jack’s sentiment about Rapunzel and Flynn. 

“I guess. I’ll talk to him later.” Jack clapped Hiccup on the back. “I’ll see you later, buddy.” He winked and trotted off to his class, leaving Hiccup to his thoughts. 

Luckily the next few periods went by quickly, and Hiccup could honestly say he was ready for lunch. Although part of him was also ready to talk to Jack again. He didn’t know how the dynamic would work now that Flynn and Rapunzel weren’t together. They had fallen into a sort of clique in themselves. He figure Flynn would return to his old table, while Rapunzel would stay at their table. 

Quickly before lunch, he stopped at his locker, to grab the bag he packed. He hated to admit that he was excited to try the layered snack pack pudding he had gotten in lieu of vanilla. The things that he did to step out of his comfort zone--he realized they were pathetic. 

“Hey Haddock.”

Hiccup jumped slightly as he closed his locker and came face to face with Ruffnut, who was leaning next to him. “Uh, hi?” he said. Ruffnut almost never talked to him on her own accord. Occasionally she would be dragged into a conversation between him and Astrid, or they would be forced into a group project. But otherwise, Hiccup just considered her to be an annoying friend of Snotlout’s. 

“How’s it going?” 

He furrowed his brow. “It’s--it’s going? Can I help you?”

She shrugged, pushing a blonde braid over her shoulder. “I was just seeing how everything was.”

Hiccup looked at her for a few seconds, completely baffled as to why she was making polite conversation with him. “Right, well everything is going just dandy.” He made to walk away but stopped as she continued talking.

“Are you planning on going to prom?” she asked, flatly.

Coughing a little, Hiccup turned back to her. “Uh, I don’t know. Probably?”

She nodded nonchalantly. “I was thinking about it too. I don’t know, though. I don’t really have anyone to go with.”

Hiccup would swear to god that she batted her eyelashes, but he was pretty sure Ruffnut didn’t do that. “Oh, well... I’m sure someone will ask you soon enough. Right?” 

“I don’t know,” she took a step closer to him. “Will they?”

Backing up, Hiccup let out a semi-nervous laugh. “I mean probably. But wow, was that the bell? That was totally the bell. I really have somewhere else to be.” He stepped back again. “Bye.” 

Luckily Rapunzel and Merida were already at their normal table by the time he got to the cafeteria. However Jack had decided to sit with Flynn, much to Hiccup’s disappointment. Still, he was glad to see that Rapunzel seemed a lot more positive than she had been in art class. 

“Guys,” he started after a few minutes of lunch. “I think Ruffnut just tried to get me to ask her to prom.” He widened his eyes and stared at both of them, completely at a loss of what to do. It wasn’t that he didn’t find it flattering, but Ruffnut was not his type. She was actually pretty intimidating. And to be honest, he would be afraid to turn her down if she flat out asked him to prom.

“Get the fuck out the door!” Merida practically yelled, slamming her hands on the table. 

Rapunzel practically choked on her iced tea. “No, what?”

Hiccup shook his head. “I have no idea. She just was awkwardly dropping hints.” His took a deep breath. “What if she asks me out? She’ll kill me if I say no!” 

“Find a date right now,” Rapunzel said. 

Immediately Hiccup looked across the cafeteria, accidentally making eye contact with Jack, who waved frantically. Hiccup smiled and gave a small wave back. He laughed quietly when Jack mouthed “I miss you.” Then he turned back to the girls. “Sorry did you say something?”

They both laughed. “Why don’t yeh just ask Astrid like ye were plannin’?” Merida asked, with a smug grin. 

Hiccup glanced over his shoulder back to the table where Jack sat with Flynn, Snotlout, the twins, and Astrid. He thought she could do that. Without a doubt he still found her attractive. Just because he was getting weird about Jack didn’t mean he lost all his feelings for the blonde. And it was more likely she would say yes to him than any other girl in the school--aside from Ruffnut at this point. “I could. I--don’t know.”

“Do it!” Rapunzel exclaimed, her eyes glowing at the prospect. “Come on, she totally brings you up all the time.”

“I told ye!” Merida tossed a crumpled up napkin at him. “And ye were talking about it before. So why now? Now ye have an excuse.”

Rapunzel nodded back enthusiastically. 

“I don’t really have many other options, unless you two are willing to offer your services?” He looked at them hopefully, because at least going with one of them would lower both expectations and the chances of utter rejection. 

Merida did not look amused, and Rapunzel shook her head. “Not a chance. If Astrid says no, then we’ll consider it. Deal?”

He gave a half-hearted nod, a small knot forming in his stomach. The possibility of asking Astrid had crossed his mind quite a few times since prom announcements. But part of him was blissful in knowing he would never actually do it. Now faced with the prospect, his palms were already sweating. Honestly, he wondered how bad going with Ruffnut would be; surely it would be easier for him in the long run. “Yeah, sure. Deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo yeah... I should apologize for a few things. One: sorry for breaking Flynn and Punzie up. I know I'm mean. I swear it's for the greater good. Two: I apologize to Ruffnut for being mean. She's literally one of my fave characters and I needed more of her in my life. I hope I didn't make Hiccup come off as a jerk for not wanting to go to prom with her--boy's just intimidated by her womanliness. I have a happy ending planned for her anyway. and Three: I apologize to Stacalynn for listening to me ramble about this chapter for the entire day.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO FREAKING SORRY I AM A HORRIBLE AUTHOR AND I AM NOT WORTHY...but I didn't abandon the story. I swear. I just have been delayed. I mean work sucks, family drama, and not to mention I think Pitch scares me to write. Seriously I was stuck on his scene for MONTHS. But I did it. With the help of my two lovely best friends and betas who worked effortlessly to force me to write this. 
> 
> Also I really want to thank you guys--especially those of you who have commented/left kudos in the past few weeks. Really, without you kicking my ass into gear I'm not sure how long this would have taken.
> 
> I am going to try to bang the next chapter out quickly. But I'm not going to promise. However, I have it all planned out and I'm super excited about it. Things are really starting to heat up ;) I'm hoping to up the UST just a little bit. Soo... YEAH! 
> 
> Anyway I really hope you like this chapter. And I am sorry I took forever (again).

**Chapter 8**

Morning bagels had become a tradition for Merida and Jack. Each morning the two of them would arrive in first period with giant iced teas and different bagels or muffins. And each morning one or both of them would wave their delicious food in Hiccup’s face until he let out an unmanly whine--or until one of them offered him a small nibble. Finally, though, Jack took it upon himself to cordially invite Hiccup to join in their escapade. Of course, that meant that Hiccup had to wake up a half an hour earlier, which would have been fine if Jack wasn’t so goddamn cheery in the morning.

“Good morning campers!” he announced as Hiccup slid into the backseat. He felt momentarily disoriented, having never been in the back. Jack almost never drove Merida home, and when he did, she usually hopped into the back without question. The back was even more crowded with junk than the front. And true to his word, there was a pair of underwear discarded on the floor of the backseat. Hiccup vaguely wondered how or why they were there. Of course, knowing Jack it was just for dramatic effect. 

Hiccup yawned. “I think I regret saying yes to this. I like my extra time in bed.”

Merida blew a raspberry. “Ye just need some sweetened iced tea and a muffin to wake ye up!” She whacked Jack’s arm, playfully. “Right?”

“Aw! But wittle Hiccup is sweepy,” Jack said, making a pouty face in the rearview mirror at Hiccup. 

Hiccup stuck his tongue out in rebuttal. “Not everyone is as beautiful as the two of you on minimal sleep. Some of us need our rest.” Hiccup wished he could find the seat belt under the plastic bags, because Jack took an unnecessarily sharp turn sending him sprawling. 

“Sorry, man.” Jack laughed, not sounding sorry at all. He did, however, throw a wink in Hiccup's direction, and the brunette found he couldn't be that mad at his friend. 

They pulled into the parking lot of the bagel deli, and it took Merida all of five seconds before she said, “Can we just talk about Flynn and Punzie?” 

Jack moaned in relief and nodded as if he had been waiting forever for someone to bring it up. “Seriously like--what? They were perfect for eachother.”

"It's just all so sudden," Merida added, pressing her face up against the glass looking for the best bagel. "Did ye talk ta Flynn, Jack?"

"I tried. He seemed completely uninterested in telling me about it. He's definitely upset though. I can tell," he said. "I want to know what he was thinking."

"Well both of them were acting weird," Hiccup added. "She told me she was waiting for him to ask her to prom." Hiccup quickly ordered his bagel and giant iced tea. 

Jack shrugged, throwing money into the counter and chewing on his straw. "From what I could tell last night when I talked to her, she was glad she wouldn't need to lie to her mom about going with him."

"Speakin' about prom, " Merida said clearing her throat loudly and looking at Hiccup. 

Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck, his heart speeding up as he thought about what he was planning on doing. Prom tickets needed to be bought by the end of the week, and if he was going to ask Astrid he would have to do it sooner rather than later. Still, he figured she probably already had a date. So the idea of impending rejection was looming over him.

"Yeah, are we like going as a group? Or are you guys going together? Or," he trailed off looking at Hiccup. "Are we...?"

Furrowing his brow, Hiccup wasn't sure what exactly Jack meant. He remembered kidding around about going with Jack, and while that seemed appealing , he doubted Jack even recalled the conversation let alone actually would consider it. "Well," he started. The idea of just going with Jack and Merida sounded nicer than going through all of the hassle of trying to get Astrid to go with him. He realized she would more likely than not laugh at him. So part of him was comforted by the idea of a back up with his friends. It seemed better even. 

"Hiccup is plannin' on askin' Astrid," Merida said around mouthful of bagel. 

"Great," Jack said, looking down and fiddling with his keys. "That's great."

The trip to the school was fairly quiet. Jack blasted the radio and Merida had to quickly finish Chemistry homework on the drive over. But they made it into the building well before Pitch started handing out detention slips. 

Hiccup found himself basically alone during his gym period. Which, granted, he was used to. But lately Jack had been all for rough housing with him and making sure to force Hiccup to be involved. Today however, the white-haired boy seemed more interested in laughing and playing with Flynn. Hiccup couldn't blame him. Flynn was obviously his best friend. And the boy had just gone through a breakup. But Hiccup had to admit he was slightly jealous at being pushed aside--though he figured he was being selfish.

Of course, being forced to dodge basketballs alone meant that Hiccup had ample time to think about how he was going to go about asking Astrid. Part of him simply believed she deny him--which helped to take some pressure off. Still, there was no way he wanted the pretty blonde to laugh in his face. 

By the time fourth period ended, he had come up with the best possible plan of attack, which naturally flew out the window as soon as he approached Astrid at her locker. “Uh, hey. Hi,” he stumbled, clearing his throat. “Hi Astrid.”

She raised her eyebrows and smiled. “Hi Hiccup, is everything okay?”

“Fine! Great,” he coughed. “So...”

“So?” she said. “Did you need something?”

“No. I mean, yes! I was--uh,” he scuffed his foot on the tiled floor. “I was wondering, well not wondering. I was thinking, that maybe if you didn’t--”

“Hiccup, you’re rambling,” she interjected, folding her arms and looking less than amused. 

Hiccup jumped a little. “Right. Sorry. I just thought if you didn’t have a date to prom, that we could go together.” He finally glanced back up to Astrid. To his relief she didn’t look ready to laugh him out of school. Before he could stop himself, however, he added. “But you probably have a date. And you probably wouldn’t want to anyway.”

“Yes!” she exclaimed, putting a finger to his lips to shut him up. “I would honestly love to.”

His jaw completely dropped. And Hiccup felt his heart sink with anxiety. “You’re saying yes?”

She nodded, squeezing her binder to her chest. “I’d really been hoping you’d ask me. I dropped some hints to Merida. But I wasn’t sure if she really understood.” She shook her head, looking uncharacteristically bashful. “I really think prom will be a lot of fun with you.” She bit her lip. “You know--someone I actually like.”

“Oh, wow.” Hiccup scratched his head, completely taken aback by his offer being accepted and by her admittance of liking him. “Great. So, uh, I guess I’ll buy our tickets at lunch.” His head raced wondering if she meant she liked him as a friend--or if she liked him in like romantic way. He honestly had no idea. 

Before he could ask for clarification, she began talking again. “So, I still haven’t bought my dress. Is there any color you’re really opposed to?” she asked, completely innocently as if she really cared what Hiccup would think of her.

“I hate to break up this little exchange,” said a voice from behind. A large, slender hand coming to rest on Hiccup’s shoulder. “But I have been eagerly awaiting a little chat with Mr. Haddock, and I think that now is the best time.”

Hiccup turned around and tried to return Pitch’s smile. “Uh, sure.” He turned back to Astrid. “I guess I’ll see you later.”

Pitch led Hiccup down the hall into his father's office. Stoick was unsurprisingly absent, likely still taking his lunch hour. Hiccup rarely ventured into the principal’s office--aside from the stint with Jack. And the room seemed oddly familiar--like someone had taken a spare room from his house and stuck it into the school. While it wasn’t somewhere he ever would be comfortable being in, the coffee stains on the desk were reminiscent of those on his coffee table. Of course, Hiccup rarely felt so anxious in the comfort of his own house. And Pitch loomed over the warmly lit room like an imposing shadow. 

“Please sit,” Pitch said, gesturing to the somewhat beat up chair. “I promise to make this quick, I just thought it would be good to get to know someone who knows Principal Haddock the best.”

Hiccup raised his eyebrows. “So you chose me? Sorry to disappoint you, buddy. But I’m not exactly great chums with my dad,” he admitted, regretting it when he said it. 

Pitch grinned, making Hiccup wonder why they hadn’t invented a do-over button yet. “I see. Well, I’m sure you still know him better than most. Don’t worry. I’m not here to pry too much.”

Under his breath, Hiccup muttered, “Yeah. I’m sure.”

The imposing man grinned at Hiccup, clearly not shaken by the boy’s disdain. "You have quite a talent Mr. Haddock," Pitch said. "Your father must be very proud."

"What are you talking about?" Hiccup asked. His mind instantly went to how he just asked Astrid to prom. Stoick always wanted him to put himself out there and ask the blonde girl out. And he finally did. Hiccup was sure once he found out, Stoick would be the picture of a proud father. His son, getting one of the most popular girls in school--as if she was something to be won. But why would Pitch know about that?

Pitch pressed his fingertips together. "I observed your art teacher, and I couldn't help but notice your stupendous work."

The junior narrowed his eyes, not trusting what he was hearing. But at least he wasn’t talking about his date with Astrid--art Hiccup could actually deal with. "Uh, thanks."

"Your father must be very proud." Pitch splayed his hands out on Stoick's desk, ask if testing for dust. "Having such talent in the family must give home something to brag about."

What did that mean? Was Pitch actually complimenting him or was this some sort of game. Stoick barely gave anything Hiccup did a second look, and yeah it sucked. But Hiccup had gotten used to it, Stoick would prefer if Hiccup was beefy and able to take down a lion with his bare hands. But he wasn't; he was small and wobbly and like to sketch and work with his hands. Besides he was pretty sure Toothless had more of a taste for art than his father. 

He realized he had been silent for a while. And Pitch continued staring at him with dark eyes. "Rapunzel is better."

"You seem evasive, Mr. Haddock. Is something wrong? " Pitch replied. Obviously he had an ulterior motive. And Hiccup wasn't interested in playing into that. 

"Well yeah. I'm being interrogated during my lunch period. I'd say something is wrong," Hiccup said. "I'm a growing teenaged boy. I need an adequate lunch in order to--develop. Or whatever." 

Pitch laughed, the kind of laugh villains in movies have to practice for hours to get right. Hiccup wouldn't have been surprised if Pitch practiced every morning. "I'm not interrogating you. "

"You keep saying that. Yet here I am," he said, gesturing to his seat. "Being interrogated. "

The Superintendent didn't seem to even hear him. "Does your father care for art like you do?"

"What?" Hiccup slumped in his chair. Clearly he was not getting out of this easily. "No. He likes sports and fishing shows."

Pitch nodded. "Ah, yes. He does seem to hold the football team in high favor."

Who even was this guy? Hiccup felt like he was dealing with a caricature of a Bond villain--accent and all. "Well, he is the principal. Generally they like their school's teams."

"But you don't seem to approve of his favoritism?" Pitch inquired.

"It's not my business." Hiccup looked away, focusing instead on the picture of the undefeated football team from two years ago. Stoick stood proudly in the middle. 

"He gives them special treatment, doesn't he?"

"What?" Hiccup said for maybe the hundredth time. His tone was becoming weak and weary. 

Pitch grinned when Hiccup looked back to him. "The sports team--like Snotlout." 

He could say that again. But Hiccup wasn't about to give Pitch what he wanted. "I mean, isn't that normal?"

"Is it normal for a father to favor his son's bully?" Pitch countered, going for the jugular. 

Hiccup sucked a breath in. How did Pitch nail that on the head? Hiccup rarely admitted to himself just how obvious it was that Stoick shoved his own son aside. "He-he doesn't." His voice was soft when he replied. 

"If it we're up to me," Pitch continued, as If he hadn't just prodded an open wound. "Snotlout would have gotten more than a few days of suspension. And he definitely wouldn't be going to prom."

"It doesn't matter," Hiccup said. "He's laid off anyway."

Pitch tilted his head. "Do you think that was your father's doing?"

"No," Hiccup said, the again wished for the do over button. "I mean. I don't know. It doesn't matter."

Pitch rose, circling the desk. “Oh, but it does matter, Mr. Haddock. It does.” The man kneeled so he was closer to Hiccup. “I think I understand you more than you realize,” he said. “And I think you deserve to have someone be proud of you.”

Hiccup stayed quiet. He hated that he was making sense. Obviously Pitch was manipulating him--Hiccup wasn’t stupid enough to fall for it. But still, hearing it out loud made the pit in his stomach grow tenfold. “Can I go to lunch now?” he asked, despite being anything but hungry.

“Of course.” Pitch stood up fully once again. “I’m glad we could have this chat. I always like getting to know my students better.”

Without much effort Hiccup scooped up his backpack and exited the main office, walking determinedly to the cafeteria. At least he could tell his friends what had happened--they always loved a good reason to hate on the Superintendent. Luckily the three of them sat in their normal seats.

“Hey! There’s the star of the show,” Rapunzel greeted enthusiastically when he flopped into his seat. “You missed the interesting part of lunch, I’m afraid.”

“Huh?” Hiccup looked to Jack for answers. The white-haired boy was too interested in his spaghetti to make eye contact. 

“Jack asked me ta prom!” Merida announced, as if telling everyone they were getting married. “Isn’t that wild?”

Hiccup felt his jaw drop and his heart sink along with it. “You--he did?” His mind was whirring with a million questions. Were they dating now? Did Merida even say yes? Merida never said yes to prom.

“Yeah! We’re going together.” Merida’s grin was from ear to ear, and Hiccup had to manage a smile in return.

Jack finally looked up, and smiled back at Hiccup. “Yeah, we’re going to get the most insane stretch-Hummer limo. I’m thinking bright yellow.”

“That’s great guys. Really,” he said. While he ignored his three friends gushing about possible dress choices and what colors they should wear, Hiccup took a giant bite of his turkey sandwich, which felt too dry in his mouth. He chewed it for far too long before forcing himself to swallow. “Maybe,” he said finally. “Maybe Astrid and I can go in on the limo with you.”

Rapunzel bounced dangerously in her chair. “You asked her?” She clapped. 

He nodded. “Yeah. She said she really wanted me to ask her.”

“Way to go buddy!” Jack said, reaching over to give him a high five. “I wish we had beers and cigars to celebrate our lovely ladies.”

Hiccup managed a tight smile. “I’m sure my dad would be glad to provide us with those,” he said bitterly. Now Stoick would hear that Hiccup finally got up the courage to ask Astrid, and was best friends with the boy who would be going with Merida--yeah, if that didn’t make him the proudest father in all of the land, nothing would.

“Great, so your house after school for celebrations?” Jack amended, throwing his usual playful wink in.

Hiccup finished his iced tea, then said, “Actually, I’m busy. Maybe some other time.” Jack didn’t need to know that he was going to be busy having a long therapy session with Toothless while simultaneously turning his phone off and possibly Googling “How to tell if you’re a jealous asshole” numerous times. Yeah--busy.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay!! Well I got this chapter up much quicker than the last one =D Probably because I've had a few of these scenes played out in my head for months now. I am hoping to get the next chapter in just as timely of a fashion! But if I don't happy holidays!!! (although I cannot imagine getting this chapter up later than the end of the month because I'm so pumped for it!)

 

**Chapter 9**

 

While history wasn't Hiccup's number one class, something had to be said for the sheer amount of History Channel specials they got to watch. And as the year seemed to be winding down, the movie days increased. Hiccup had a theory that teachers just gave up dealing with the excitement that came with the spring break and subsequently prom and summer.

"D'ya think I'd look stupid in this one?" Merida asked showing Hiccup a picture of a short dress from the magazine her mother had bought her. "I never know what kinda dress I look good in."

He sighed. The dress was pretty, plain but not boring. "I think you could pull it off," he whispered in reply.

She groaned. "Ye say that about every one!" she whined, laying her head down. "If I don't pick one Mam is gunna buy one fer me. I don't want a cupcake dress!"

"Then just pick one. Your boyfriend will think you look good in everything," he said, bitterly.

She sat back up, the pages sticking to her forehead. " He's not my boyfriend. How many times do I have ta tell ye?"

"You're going to prom together," Hiccup argued.

"As friends."

"You hang out all the time."

"You hang out with him more," she said.

He shook his head skeptically. "You do literally everything together."

"Not once," she told him, " Have we gotten Slurpees together?"

"We only did that two times!" Hiccup bit his lip.

Merida rolled her big eyes. "Face it Hiccup, if either of us was dating Jack, it'd be you."

Hiccup frowned. Yeah, that would be the day. He could just imagine what his dad would say if he came home to Hiccup and Jack holding hands on the couch, or if they actually went to prom together. It was completely laughable. "Just admit it, Mer."

The redhead gave him possibly the most unamused look imaginable. "Tell me, are ye an' Astrid dating?"

"What?" he balked. "No!"

"Same thing," she said.

He shook his head. "It is not, and you know that." Merida and Jack were close, for them to start dating was expected. Astrid had barely talked to Hiccup besides a Facebook chat which she was sending him dresses. Why did prom make girls think guys wanted to see their dresses?

"Hiccup," Merida began, weary. "The only reason I said I'd go ta prom with Jack is 'cause I know he won't have any expectations."

His brow furrowed. "Expectations of what?"

She sighed, as if explaining a very simple thing to a two year old--for the fifth time. "Sexpectations."

"I--what?" He felt his eyes widen.

"I know Jack isn't expectin' me ta put out. So that takes some pressure offa me, and I can worry about gettin' a pretty dress ta please Mum," she said.

He shook his head, being sure to keep his voice down. "Why do you even think that's a thing?"

"C'mon, dontcha think Astrid has Sexpectations?"

No, no way. There was no way Astrid was thinking about that, with him? "You know, that's not really a word."

Merida snorted. "You're deflecting."

"No," he said. "No. Besides, like, it's going to be in the gym. I'm not doing the do in the locker room or something." He tried, he really did, not to think of Jack half naked in the locker room.

"Hello! After parties," she said. "Jack told me Flynn might have one."

"Wait is Flynn even going?" he asked, quieting down as his teacher glared in their direction.

"Because Flynn really needs to go in order to throw a party?" She was right. Flynn basically had thrown an after prom party since he was a freshmen--not to mention an after homecoming party, and after school play party. Basically Flynn was notorious for being an epic party host. Though, Hiccup had never experienced one.

"Well, I'm not going," he said.

"Yes ye are."

"Merida! I'm not--I don't, no!" Sure, Jack was best friends with Flynn, and Astrid hung out with Flynn. But Hiccup did not get invited to parties. Not only was he sort of a nerd, and a bit of an outcast, he was the son of the principal. That didn't happen. And now, what if Astrid though--no, he wasn't going there.

She held her hands up as the bell rang. "Maybe yer right." She walked to their lockers. "Maybe she has no sexpectations," she said.

"Yeah, maybe she wanted to go with me because she knew I wouldn't..." he trailed off. What did he mean, he wouldn't try? Certainly he wouldn't pressure her, but he wasn't asexual. Astrid couldn't have thought that? Could she? He definitely found her attractive. But that wasn't the first thing in his mind. When did this become so complicated?

By the time the two had switched out books, and gotten to the cafeteria, the idea of possibly meeting Astrid's "sexpectations" weighed heavily on Hiccup's mind.

"Guys," he said quietly to his friends.  "Uh, do you think Astrid wants to...on prom night."

Jack's blue eyes widened. "Uh, yeah dude! Hell yeah. You're a catch."

Hiccup gave a wry smile. "Thanks but you're supposed to say no."

"What? Why? You're going to get mad action my friend."  Jack winked clearly believing it was the right thing to say.

Hiccup just hide his blushing face in his hands. He knew he should have been excited about the prospect. Teenagers were supposed to be into the idea of getting laid. But it just made Hiccup more anxious than anything.

Rapunzel piped up, "Lay off him! Clearly he's a decent guy who isn't going to objectify Astrid by bragging about how hard he's gunna hit that.”

"Oh my god. Please stop. I can't take it anymore," Hiccup whined.

Thankfully Jack seemed to take the hint and changed the subject. "But you're coming with us to Flynn's after par--oh." He stopped, his gaze landing on Rapunzel.

The blonde girl rolled her doe eyes. "Don't worry I know about Flynn's party. You guys don't have to be gentle. I'm a big girl." Her strong tone had more conviction than her posture. She slumped over on her chair and twirled a lock,not making eye contact.

"Punzie, I can take you too. We can be a ménage à trois!" Jack said, completely earnest in his tone.

She laughed. "No! I don't want to go with you. Besides, I'm not even allowed to go."

Jack pouted. "Harsh."

"Mother would be crushed if I lied to her about this," Rapunzel continued. "And, frankly, none of you bitches are worth it."

Merida, who had been busy getting all of the crumbs out of her Funion bag, looked up, and said angrily, "Oy! I'm so worth it."

Hiccup laughed at her and leaned over to wipe crumbs off of his best friend's sleeve.

"Okay," Jack said, still focused on Rapunzel. "But for the record, Flynn isn't worth any of that either."

Rapunzel sighed, her lips down turned. " I know Jack, thanks."

The four continued to spend their lunch period chatting. Rapunzel turned out to have much better opinions on dresses compared to Hiccup. And Jack even gave his two cents--still better than Hiccup. Merida seemed pleased; her taste however was not much better than Hiccup's.

When sixth period came around, Jack slung a lazy arm around Hiccups shoulder as they walked to health class. Hiccup could smell him he was so close. Deodorant mixed with a little sweat from gym--and it wasn't bad, not like some guys. It just smelled like Jack. Hiccup's mind clouded trying to figure out which deodorant Jack might use, and he knew he should take a step back to prevent himself from being the creepiest human.  But he didn't.

Miss Dents was standing by the door when they got to class, as she usually was. She like greeting her students before they sat down, and she simultaneously took attendance. However, Hiccup couldn't help but notice how her smile seemed tighter than usual. And when he walked to his seat, he realized why.

Pitch stood in the far corner, pen and paper in hand. He looked ready to tear the throats of innocents out with his pointy teeth.

"Oh great," Jack muttered, having noticed as well. "Just what we need." The boy shot a very obvious glare to the superintendent. "And I was really looking forward to asking Miss Dents to go to prom with Flynn."

Hiccup snorted. "Wow you're a great friend." He sat down and took out his health notebook. "I don't think Flynn has a chance with her, even if he does have that...smolder," Hiccup said, much to the delight of Jack.

"Stop, no seriously." Jack laughed loudly. "Him and his freaking smolder."

The bell rang, and Miss Dents stepped up to the front of the room. "I'm glad to see everyone is here today! I'm sure you've noticed we have a guest today, but I think we should just pretend he's not here so we can show him what a normal class is like!" She seemed nervous, even Hiccup could see. But despite her slightly faltering voice, she stood confident as she addressed the class.

"Today's class is probably one of the most important things we talk about in this class. And I can't think of a better time to talk about than now--especially with the Ring Banquet coming up." She walked the length of the classroom handing out a large stack of handouts and Hiccup could make out from in his seat some of the words, sex, intercourse, abstinence. Shit.

"Most of you," she continued. "Are preoccupied with thinking about how much you're going to spend on your outfits, or how to ask out that special someone." She sighed as if thinking about her own excitement from prom."But I know a lot of you are thinking about prom night." Some of the class murmured, but Miss Dents pushed on. "We talked about alcohol and drugs a few weeks ago, and I know you will all keep yourselves safe in whatever environment you're in, and leave if you don't feel comfortable. But today I think we really should translate to being safe and comfortable and how it regards to sex."

Hiccup swallowed thickly and looked down at the packet in his hands. He could feel his ears burning and face heating up. Oh god he was blushing so hard. Some of the class was already giggling--the graphic diagrams within the pages probably had something to do with it. He quickly flipped through it, finding it less embarrassing than accidentally making eye contact with one of his classmates. However, the words "Ins and outs of gay sex" boldly caught his eye, so he quickly went back to the benign front page. Nope, he wasn't reading that in class.

"Prom night is a big night, and maybe some of you are thinking that maybe it's the night. And, maybe, you want to go all the way for the first time," she continued. "Or some of you may not be sure. I'm not here to tell you not to do it, or talk you out of it. We all already know abstinence is the only sure fire way to prevent pregnancy and diseases--but maybe you don't want to do that. So I want to let you know that's okay too. But you guys need to be smart and considerate about it."

Lifting his head, Hiccup ventured a look at Jack. The boy's eyes were wide, glued to every word the teacher said. But he didn't look like he was getting new information, just curious to hear her perspective, or something. Hiccup couldn't detect a single shade of blush on him, so he was sure in comparison he looked like a tomato.

"I want to discuss safe sex, and that sort of thing, then I want to open the class up to some questions you might have. Alright?"

"Yes ma'am!" Jack echoed enthusiastically. And Hiccup nearly jumped at the sound of his voice.

God why was he acting like this? It wasn't like he hadn't had a sex talk before-- thankfully not from Stoick. But he certainly knew how everything worked, and it wasn't embarrassing to be listening to a lecture on consent. Except it really was.  So embarrassing.  And he couldn't stop himself from getting a tug of anxiety from the idea that maybe Astrid was going to want something from him. Maybe everyone was right. He felt his eyes grow wide. He had no idea what to do in that situation.  He was going to mess everything up.

Jack nudged him as Miss Dents began talking again. And he managed a weary smile at his friend, who gave him a quizzical glance. Now was not the time for an awkward sex crisis.

"The most basic thing you need to know when it comes to sex is that it can be great as long as everyone involved is one hundred percent ready and willing. I don't care if you feel obligated for whatever reason, or if you think you're ready at first. If you feel a moment of hesitation,  or a shred of doubt, don't do it. You have a right to stop even if you have already started. And if your partner doesn't respect that, they aren't worth your time. This goes for boys and girls. Okay?"

Hiccup let out a breath. Well, at least someone didn't have crazy expectations. Honestly Hiccup wasn't sure what he would do if Astrid made a move on him. He wouldn't reject her. He couldn't. She was one of the most popular girls in school. Obviously he should want to do things with her. But she probably wouldn't even bother.

Miss Dents continued on. Her tone was conversational, and not rehearsed.  "And say, you are completely ready and your partner is completely ready,  well you need to make sure use protection.  And you need to make sure you do it the right way." She pulled from a box a pile of little packets. It took Hiccup an embarrassing amount of seconds to realize they were condoms, and he promptly started choking on his own spit.

"Are you okay?" Jack barely whispered handing Hiccup his Snapple.

Hiccup nodded and took a sip of the drink grateful for the distraction.

Miss Dents held up a condom and demonstrated how best to open and put it on a banana. "Does anyone want to come up and try?"

Miss Dents held up a condom and demonstrated how best to open and put it on a banana. "Does anyone want to come up and try?"

It was no surprise to Hiccup that Jack immediately raised his hand. He couldn't say he was entirely prepared to see the slim boy go up to the front of the class and gently open the condom wrapper. Long fingers grasped the banana at the base and expertly rolled the latex down the shaft, then he ran his fingers down it again to make sure it was on.

His throat felt dry so he took another sip of Jack's Snapple.

"Great job Jack!" Miss Dents said, before handing him a star sticker and sending him back to his seat. "Now who else wants to try?"

A few brave girls got up and giggled while they fumbled with the banana, and another boy went up and somehow managed to poke a hole in the condom with the banana. Hiccup was not about to go up there and mortify himself. Instead he read the label on Jack's drink and listened as Miss Dents finished up by telling them she wanted to get to class questions, but they would be going over STDs next class. Joy.

"I have a question Miss dents!" Jack exclaimed raising his hands and practically jumping out if his seat.

As it turned out, Jack had a lot of questions. All very different. He asked maybe four questions just himself-- some of which Hiccup had wondered but would never have asked. Some of the other students asked things, but Jack's questions strayed from the basic "does It really hurt when a girl loses her virginity," or "can you get a girl pregnant on her period." Instead Jack inquired about the most comfortable positions (it depends on the person) and how best to go about foreplay (again it really depends on the partner, but kissing, oral sex, and just being gentle helps a lot).

Finally, the bell was about to ring and Jack raised his hand eagerly ready for another question. "Okay, so say you want to have anal sex. What is tge best type of lube to use?" he asked earnestly. Some student giggled, but Jack seemed genuinely curiois. Hiccup could probably fry an egg on his face.

"Hmm," Miss Dents began, however Pitch stood up.

"Enough of this. I believe class is over," he said dangerously.

Jack looked at Hiccup his eyes wide asking if that was his fault.

"Enough of this. I believe class is over," he said dangerously.

Jack looked at Hiccup his eyes wide asking if that was his fault.

Miss Dents plastered on a grin. "Alright! Great job today class. I'll see you all next time. Have a great weekend!"

Hiccup collected his books, slipping the packet into his bag and watched some of the students secretly grabbed a handful of condoms from the front of the room as they exited.

"I hope she's not in trouble," Jack said wistfully.  "That was a really good class. Didn't you think?"

Hiccup shrugged, trying not to make eye contact. "Yeah. I hope she's okay."

"Are you okay? You've been the most quiet human." Jack turned to him as they got to his locker. "Is something wrong? Did that class make you feel weird or something?"

"Nope. Not at all. See you later? Bye," Hiccup said quickly,  before briskly walking to his seventh period class. So smooth, he thought to himself. Nothing like keeping your awkwardness at bay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to make a little note about Hiccup being squicky during the sex ed class. I feel like he really would be just because it's Hiccup. But believe me I think he appreciated the class just as much as Jack did. And I know I hardly scraped the surface of everything that I wanted to be talked about in the class, but hey I didn't want to bore you with basic sex ed, nor did I want to go into a moral rant about how schools need sex ed...
> 
> Except here I am. Ha, whatever. Love you guys! Thanks for reading.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HIHI HIH IHI uhhh yeah I'm not dead? This isn't abandoned? I have no excuses? I'm sorry. HAVE SOME FLUFF AND FORGIVE ME.

**Chapter 10**

 

“I think my real question is, how do you not go to a doctor if you have something like this growing on your weiner,” Jack said, dangling off of Hiccups bed. The pamphlet that Ms. Dents was open in his hands. He sat up. “I mean look at this thing. It has to be painful.”

Hiccup jerked away from the picture Jack was showing him. But he got a nice view of a crisp black and white picture. Every other photocopy the school gave them was blurry and dark, but of course the ones on genital warts were stupendously clear. “I really don’t want to see it.”

The white-haired boy leaned over Hiccup to grab his Slurpee from the bedside table. “Don’t be a squick. This is stuff we need to know.” He punctuated his sentence by slapping the page. “What happens if you have this thing growing on your dick? You’re going to have to know what it is--and I don’t think Merida is going to check it for you.”

“I’m good. I’ll make sure to consult my doctor if I notice any abnormalities.” Hiccup busied himself with a sketch of Toothless. The shading just wasn’t right, granted the cat had been the worst model ever. His heart wasn’t in it though, he may have mostly been using it as an excuse not to make eye contact with Jack.

“Good, I don’t want you ending up looking like this.” Jack shoved the page over Hiccups drawing, and the smaller boy recoiled.

It was bad enough thinking about all of the things that could go wrong and be emotionally scarring during sex, looking at detailed photos of the physical ramifications were not going to make him want to go at it any time soon. He swallowed a lump in his throat thinking that maybe that time was sooner than he had originally thought. Not that he thought Astrid would have any communicable diseases, but, well it didn’t help to look at the grossest pictures in the world.

Jack laughed and scooted next to Hiccup, flipping the page to a slightly more benign article. “I swear I thought you were going to turn into a tomato during class. You know, like in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, when the girl turns into the blueberry. Only you would be a tomato.” He nudged Hiccup. “What was your deal?”

Hiccup felt his face heat up. “What,” he sputtered. “No. Nothing. No deal. There was no deal.” He put his sketchbook on the floor, done with sketching. The worried about the charcoal that had landed on his bed.

“Oh-kay then,” he said, then looked pensively at his friend. “I liked the part about getting herpes in your eye. That’s something to watch out for.”

Hiccup cringed. “I really don’t want to hear anymore.”

“No, think about it,” Jack continued. “I mean it’s one thing when you’re blowing a guy, okay yeah you get jizz in your eye,” he paused, and Hiccup wished he didn’t make eye contact with him, because the image of Jack with--things on his face floated in Hiccup’s perverted mind. “But then what if you have dick herpes already, and then you masturbate, and somehow you get your own jizz in your eye! Do you get the same herpes twice?”

It was a blessing, somehow, that Hiccup hadn’t been taking a sip of his own drink at that point. Because if Jack talking about giving someone a blow job wasn’t enough to make him choke, the fact that he was mentioning masturbation would have done the trick. Of course, Hiccup was only thankful that the conversation was laced with disgusting thoughts, because he wasn’t sure how much of it he could take.

“Please stop talking.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Does STD talk bother baby Hiccup?” Jack said, poking him in the ribs. His long fingers finding the tender parts between the bones.

He wiggled away, half from ticklishness and half from just instinct. “No, it doesn’t!”

Jack poked him again, advancing on him as he scooted away. “No? What is it then? Masturbation? I <i>know</i> you do it. We all do it.” He started tickling Hiccup’s other side with reckless abandon.

“Ah--stop,” Hiccup said, trying to control his laughter. “Why, why are you even talking about this? You’re such a weirdo!” He writhed, slumping down onto the bed trying to escape Jack’s long fingers, which now travelled across his torso.

“Sex,” Jack said, jumping on top of him and pinning him down. “Anal sex! Semen all over the place. Dripping out of orifices.” He finally stopped tickling, holding Hiccup’s wrists down. “Hiccup, we are hot-blooded young men, this is stuff we talk about.” His blue eyes were earnest as he watched Hiccup try to scramble away. He held him down though.

“Well, I don’t talk about it.” Hiccup said, he could almost see the blush of his cheeks reflecting off of Jack’s skin.

“Prude.”

Of course, he blushed more. “I’m not a prude!” he argued, although, truth is he probably was. But he didn’t want Jack thinking he was, for some reason. He looked up at the boy, setting his jaw to show he was resolute in not being a prude.

“Don’t worry. I don’t care. You can be a prude. It’s okay. Don’t be ashamed, Hiccup,” Jack teased, leaning in, and for a second Hiccup could feel their breath mingling.

Hiccup sighed, or maybe he inhaled. “I’m just inexperienced,” he admitted. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, and he was sure Jack could hear it.

Jack blew a puff of air out. “Oh right, and I’m Casanova over here,” he said, sarcasm dripping from his tongue. He rolled his eyes. “I’m inexperienced too.”

His eyebrows shot up, and Hiccup wished he didn’t looked so surprised. He never really asked if Jack was a virgin. But he always expected he wasn’t. The guy was so attractive, and he hung out with Flynn--who wasn’t shy about his exploits. “Oh--uh,” he fumbled. “But you’ve done something, right?” he asked, suddenly burning with curiosity. It didn’t matter, it shouldn’t matter. But Hiccup wanted to know.

“Well, yeah,” Jack told him, still sitting on top of him. “Some things--not a lot. But so have you.” He said it with confidence, like he was certain Hiccup was going around feeling girls up or getting second-rate handjobs under the bleachers.

Hiccup could only shake his head.

Jack’s eyes widened a little bit. “No?” he asked in disbelief. “Wait, how far have you gone?”

He really wished he could avoid eye contact. But Jack was right there. And it was impossible to evade his eyes. “Uh, nowhere,” he told him quietly. Shame burned across his face.

“Just, like, kissing?”

Hiccup squirmed under Jack, trying to get free.  “No,” he said pulling one of his hands free, not that it helped much. “Jack, get offa me.”

Jack’s eyes widened even more, and it would have been cute if Hiccup wasn’t so embarrassed. “You’ve never kissed anyone?” The shock was evident in his voice, and Hiccup wondered if crying now would make Jack leave and never bring up the subject again.

“No.”

It happened quickly, almost too quickly for Hiccup to notice, but Jack leaned down and pressed his lips against Hiccup’s. He pulled back fast and scrambled off of the other boy.

“Now you have.”

Hiccup froze, not moving to get up. His mind blanked out for a second, then went into panic mode, trying to replay the last ten seconds of his life. Jack had just kissed him. Jack--had just kissed him. What just happened? Jack had actually just kissed him. He sat up too quickly, staring at the other boy, trying to decide if what happened was real or if he just hallucinated.

“Well,” Jack asked, looking slightly nervous as the silence dragged on.

“You--you. I...what?” He hoped his face wasn’t as bewildered as he felt .

Jack frowned. “What?”

Hiccup took a breath. “Why did you just kiss me?”

The other boy shrugged. “I don’t know. It seemed like it bothered you that you’d never been kissed before. So I just thought--I thought I would help you out.” He turned his head away, for the first time seeming anxious about what he just did.

“Oh,” Hiccup wondered if he sounded disappointed. Because, maybe, a small part of him wanted Jack to tell him that he kissed him because he wanted to--he kissed him because he had feelings for him.

“It’s cool right?” Jack asked quickly, his body stiff.

Hiccup nodded quickly. “Yeah! I just wasn’t expecting it. I wish I was a little more prepared for my first kiss.” He wanted to eat his words after he said them. Honestly, he was glad that Jack had been his first kiss and he didn’t want the other boy thinking he regretted it.

“Oh, right.” Jack hesitated. “We could practice or something. It doesn’t have to count.”

Hiccup perked up a little, and he tried not to seem eager at all. “Practice kissing? You?” Jack was really offering to kiss him again? Maybe more than once.

“Sure, friends do that all the time,” Jack said, conversationally.

Hiccup wasn’t so sure. But, honestly, he wasn’t about to argue. “Okay.” He faced Jack and straightened up a little bit, not sure how to proceed. Luckily, Jack took point, placing his hands on Hiccup’s thigh and leaning in to gently press another kiss into the boy’s lips. Hiccup gave a little more pressure, finding it a little bit easier when he was prepared for it. Still his hands felt like dead weight, he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to him. He could put them on Jack’s thighs too, or tangle them in Jack’s hair.

His thought process was cut off as Jack pulled back. “That was way better.” His voice was light.

“Oh, thanks for your vote of confidence,” Hiccup said with an eye roll.

“Shut up.” Jack leaned in again, this time slipping his tongue past Hiccup’s lips.

Hiccup jumped back. “Whoa!”

Jack tense. “I’m sorry! Too much?” he asked worried.

Hiccup relaxed. “No, no. I just didn’t know that was coming.” His body felt hot all over.

“Here,” Jack said, moving a hand to the nape of Hiccup’s neck. “Relax. It’s just practice.” He kissed him. And this time when Jack’s tongue entered his mouth, he was prepared. It was a little cold from the Slurpee, and he tasted sweet from it too. He wasn’t sure at first what he was supposed to be doing. But when Jack’s tongue traced arbitrary patterns in his mouth, he couldn’t help but follow his lead.

The kissing was slow--almost too slow.  And Hiccup wanted to deepen it even more. But it was just practice, Jack’s words echoed into his mind. So instead, he let Jack swirl circles into his mouth. And he concentrated on the small movements of their lips. They only pulled back marginally to take quick, wet breaths before going back. At one point Hiccup caught Jack’s lip between his teeth, mostly by accident. But the other boy made a throaty gasp into his mouth. Hiccup’s body responded almost instantly.

He grabbed Jack’s hip and pulled him closer, his reservations clouded by need and arousal. Jack responded in kind, opening his mouth more, and breathing heavier into Hiccup’s mouth. Hiccup let his hand travel down Jack’s back, just touching the other boy, trying to memorize the feeling of his shoulder blades and spine.

Hiccup had no idea how much time past, or how much time they spent “practicing”, but he could have probably continued on for hours. Jack tasted addictive, and his body wanted to keep going--maybe wanted more. Unfortunately a knock at the door sprung the two boys apart.

“Shit,” Hiccup hissed under his breath, not realizing his dad had come home.

Stoick opened the door a few seconds later and looked from Hiccup to Jack. “I ordered pizza, it’ll be here in a few minutes,” he told them, furrowing his brow.

Hiccup tried to speak but his throat seemed to seize for a moment. There was no way the two of them looked innocent. Jack’s lips were wet and pinker than usual, and Hiccup was certain that he was blushing from head to toe--not to mention they were both breathing heavily. “Okay, Dad, we’ll be right down.” He sounded hoarse.

Stoick nodded, then shut the door as he went back downstairs.

Hiccup let out a breath, relieved that maybe his dad didn’t just catch him making out with another boy--that was making out right. He looked to Jack, who was already bouncing off of the bed.

“Pizza! I’ll race you downstairs!” Jack scrambled for the door and disappeared downstairs even though Hiccup hadn’t moved.

“Well, that happened,” he muttered to himself, standing up and wincing at how tight his pants still were.

Luckily, Stoick said nothing about what he may or may not have seen as Jack and him chatted through dinner. Hiccup decided to stay quiet for most of it, as he was certain he would put his foot in his mouth.

“I’ll see you Monday, Hiccup,” Jack said, as Hiccup walked him to the door. Stoick had gone to shower, but it was getting late. So the white-haired boy had to go home.

Hiccup scratched the back of his neck, a blush creeping up his neck as he thought about what had transpired between the two of them. “Yeah, definitely,” he said. “Drive safe.”

Jack swooped in and landed an unexpected kiss on Hiccup’s lips before jogging into his car and speeding off.

Hiccup stood in the doorway for about thirty seconds before he ran upstairs to his computer. His laptop took too long to start up, and he knew Skype would take another thousand years. So instead he pulled out his cellphone and called Merida.

“Oy, idiot, way to text me all day. Where have yeh been?” she greeted. Hiccup felt guilty for a minute. He had been ignoring her in favor of Jack--shit, her and Jack,

He panicked for a second. “Uh--I,” he said. He wanted to mention what had happened. He wanted to talk about kissing Jack. But for a moment he hesitated. He had kissed another boy--just in practice, but still. And not only that, but that was Merida’s prom date. She liked him, she was going on a date with him. And he was supposed to be her best friend. Hiccup didn’t even know if Jack would be mad if he mentioned them kissing to anyone, let alone his prom date.

“Yeh there?”

He jumped a little. “Yeah, I was just hanging out with Jack. How did your first day of instructing go?” he asked, keeping his voice steady.

Merida quickly jumped into the tale of her first day instructing archery on her own. He listened as best he could, making sure to play the good audience. But his mind was honestly somewhere else.

“Well, Mam wants me ta go watch Say Yes to the Dress with her, and I swore I wouldn’t miss it this week,” Merida groaned after a while. “Text me so I don’ die of boredom please, and thank you.”

Hiccup chuckled. “Will do. Don’t have too much fun!” He hung up and noticed he had two text messages. One from Jack and one from Astrid. He read them both, and replied to Jack, figuring he could talk to Astrid about dress colors and limos tomorrow when his mind wasn’t full of the taste of Jack. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this sort of was supposed to go way differently. Like I'm talking Hiccup was supposed to tell Merida, they were only supposed to kiss like once... anddd there was supposed to be a whole nother scene. BUTTT it didn't happen that way. Hiccup decided to be an idiot. And I'm sorry to say that shit really hits the fan from here on out.
> 
> Thanks for sticking with me guys. Even though I'm totally spazzy.


End file.
